


If I Could Turn Back Time

by A_Little_Kitty_Cat_21



Category: Cobra Kai (Web Series), Karate Kid (Movies)
Genre: Discovery, Falling In Love, M/M, Past Relationship(s), Time Travel
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-26
Updated: 2021-03-12
Packaged: 2021-03-14 11:48:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply, Underage
Chapters: 8
Words: 22,119
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28920096
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/A_Little_Kitty_Cat_21/pseuds/A_Little_Kitty_Cat_21
Summary: The boy's eyebrows knitted in frustration, and he swats his hand at Daniel lazily. With another nudge, the blonde boy cracked his eyes open, but his eyes grew at the sight of Daniel and yelled out fear. The yell of surprise was followed by a thud as the other male fell off of the bed.-------------------A sound of a blood curdling scream had the older blonde on his feet in a matter of seconds. His hands were already in an offensive placement as he stood in a fighting stance. His eyes were heavy and he wipes the sleep out of his eyes as he listens to movements. The person who let out that scream was now hiding under the bed, he was holding a hand over his mouth to stop any sounds from being too loud from his breathing.
Relationships: Daniel LaRusso/Johnny Lawrence
Comments: 53
Kudos: 159





	1. In The Year 2020

The morning light wavers as the curtains sway among the windows. Bird chirping could be heard, and the gentle song of the chimes played as the breeze swept by. The soft clinks of glass and metal woke the brunette up. The man awoke, refusing to open his eyes; he stretched his arms and arching his back for the sweet release of his spine to crack. He instantly felt relaxed, and he yawed before attempting to open his eyes. He desperately waited before the light instantly blinded him until they adjusted, but he snapped them shut again. It was a lovely lazy Saturday morning; Daniel really had no responsibilities today because Amanda had the kids this week. With the craving for coffee, the brunette rubbed his eyes, cracking them open again slightly. 

Daniel didn't want to get up yet, so he covered himself in his warm blanket and rolled over to look out the window. The brunette still had the habit of sleeping on the left side of the bed, away from the window, but he had the bed all to himself now. It usually felt strange to have to bed to himself; however, it felt comfortable this morning. When Daniel rolls over, he freezes when he sees another figure in the bed next to him. No wonder he didn't feel so alone his morning.

The person next to him was snoring in soft little audible huffs of their breaths next to him. How the hell is someone in his bed? The person looked to be young— too young. Daniel started panicking a little. _Did he sleep with jailbait last night? Oh, God!_ But relief flew over him as he remembers that he didn't even leave the house last night. Daniel stares at the other person, noticing that a young boy lying there in a fetal position with his eye still closed. He looks ever familiar in a strange way, feeling like it was on the tip of his tongue; he brushes the boy's blonde hair out of his eyes to see if he could recognize him better. Then when nothing comes up, Daniel gently nudges the boy.

The boy's eyebrows knitted in frustration, and he swats his hand at Daniel lazily. With another nudge, the blonde boy cracked his eyes open, but his eyes grew at the sight of Daniel and yelled out fear. The yell of surprise was followed by a thud as the other male fell off of the bed. Daniel just blinked as he watched the other fall off and suppressed a laugh. "You okay? Who are you, and why are you in my bed?" The blonde refused to answer and hid on the other side of the bed. 

The blonde, looking around trying to identify his surroundings, speaks frantically, "Who the hell are you?!" The question was followed up by another as the young boy gears himself up to defend himself, "And where the fuck am I?" Daniel tries to reel the other out; it would be best if they could talk face to face. "I'm not going to hurt you. Are you homeless? Do you need food?" The blonde's head popped up to show only his eyes; his eyes showed visual confusion. His hair falling into place of bangs and the show of electric blue eyes had Daniel recognize the other immediately. "Johnny? Johnny Lawrence!?"

Once again, the other's eyes grew wide again and dipped back under the side of the bed. "How the hell do you know my name? Have you been stalking me?" Daniel laughs a little, but it dies in his throat as he realizes that a young Johnny Lawrence is in his presence. This was concerning. "No, of course not. However, I tend to recognize the combination of those electric blues and golden locks. It's fine, you can come out, you know me… well kind of."

Johnny takes a deep breath, "Are you a friend of John Kreese? He's always talking about his war buddy from Nom." Daniel knew that he was talking about Terry, which made him physically ill for a moment.

With a dry mouth, the older brunette sighs out, "Oh God, no. Silver gives me chills; Kreese is no better either." But Daniel hears the younger blonde scoff, "How do you know? Kreese is the best thing that has happened to me." 

_Shit._ Daniel wasn't sure anymore what time frame this Johnny came from, before or after the beach. "Uh, I know Ali…" It was a split-second decision, a risky one, but Daniel had to try. "How would you know Ali? All she has time for anymore is that stupid twerp, LaRusso." Yaheez. 

"Well, you probably don't want to talk about that LaRusso kid in front of me." Daniel couldn't help it. The other blonde popped his head back up (this time up to his chin), "You know LaRusso?"

"He's got a first name and more than you think. Come on, we have to talk." Younger Johnny slowly emerges from his little confinement; Daniel's warming smile helps the younger of the two trust the brunette. "Tell me, Johnny, what year is it?"

Without hesitation, "1984." Daniel thought carefully about how to tell the blonde the truth. "John, how do I say this? It's 2020, and that twerp you were talking about, that's me. Hi— hello, Daniel LaRusso." The blonde blinked for a moment and started laughing his ass off; in the middle of his fits, he gasped as he talked. "Ahh— that's funny old man. LaRusso is a tiny kid that butts his way into everyone's businesses…" 

Daniel watched the younger boy laugh as he remained unfazed. "And he doesn't leave—" As Johnny continues, the older man cuts him off to finish the same sentence he remembers long ago. "Well enough alone. I know. Look, I can prove it." Daniel walked out to grab his old sensei's headband that he always kept with him. Daniel shows the white band to younger Johnny, but he shrugs, "I've never seen him wear that." 

"Okay, what was the last thing that happened before you showed up here?" 

"Well, last month was Halloween—"

"Oh my God. Are you fucking kidding me?! Why did I have to get this, Johnny? Okay, listen— I can't tell you what happens, but I can say 'fuck you' for beating the shit out of me." As Daniel raised his voice, his Jersey accent came out thicker, confirming that this, in fact, is Daniel LaRusso. 

"LaRusso... wow. You got old." Daniel rolls his eyes. "I'd like to say I've done pretty good, all things considered. What age would you say? Hmmm?" Johnny looks at the older brunette and tries to insult Daniel smugly, "42." 

"Ha! Wrong, I guess I do look younger." Daniel gives a smirk. But then a thought crosses his mind, "Now that I'm older, looking at you now, you don't even scare me. Thinking maybe trauma might come back, but honestly, you're just the cutest little button!" Johnny flushed over, flipping him off, and Daniel just smiles like a grandmother wanting to pinch his cheeks. "Oh shit. I gotta call John."

"Kreese?"

"No— uh, I… nevermind. Hold on, wait here." Daniel snatches his phone, and Johnny sits gingerly on the bed as Daniel phones older present Johnny. "Come on. Come on, pick up!" The young blonde wondered what older Daniel had grabbed, but his voice suggested that he was calling someone. Maybe he had a wall phone nearby. 

"LaRusso—"

"John, I've got a situation. Not a situation— a problem!"

"Well, it looks like you're not the only one. I have something weird going on here…" Johnny was cut off with some rustling in the background and a faint yell, "Get back here!" The other man on the phone seemed to be out of breath. 

"I'm coming over. Hold on tight, John." Daniel hung up the phone and walked back into his bedroom closet, changing as fast as he could. He then realized that he had no clothes for young Johnny, Anthony's clothes were too small, and Samantha's wouldn't do. But as Daniel walked back into his room, the young blonde was wearing a Guns N' Roses nightshirt and light sweats. That would do, but the blonde was barefooted. "You're going to have to wear something on your feet. Let me see what I got."

Daniel takes about 10 minutes rummaging through all the pairs of shoes he has. Finding almost nothing, he spots a pair of flip flops in the very back. It's the only thing close to his younger self's size. So he pulled him out and handed them to the blonde, "Where are we going?"

"Somewhere, where you'll be safe… I guess. Okay, so I got five main rules." Daniel looks Johnny in the face and holds the same look that works when he talks to Anthony. He holds up his right pointer finger, "Rule number one: No running off. This isn't 1984; it's 2020. I promise you this new 'world' will be hard to navigate compared to the '80s. Stick with me; you'll be fine."

Johnny rolled his eyes, "How hard can it be?" Daniel gave a chuckle, thinking about older Jonny still having trouble adjusting, "You have no idea, kid." The brunette raises a second finger, "Rule number two: Twerp or not, I am the adult. You're still underage, and you still have to listen to me. You don't have to like me, but treat me with respect, and I'll treat you with respect. Plus, if you don't have an adult by you, CPS could take you. Which is not great with this situation. Also, we wouldn't know how to send you back, and you'll be stuck here. In the 80's it was totally acceptable for kids your age— our age? Whatever! —At that time, to roam around safely any time they wanted. Now it's way too dangerous; it's gotten a lot worse since then."

Johnny shifted his weight and glanced warily at Daniel, "Really? CPS could take me?" 

"Yeah, that's why we won't mention to anyone that you are not from this time…" With the third finger raised, he continued, "Rule number three: I, nor anyone else, will tell you your future. I will tell you the necessary things in order to navigate your way a little so that you are not in the dark. However, saying anymore could change many factors. That is something I'm not willing to risk."

The younger boy scoffs, "Lame… That is totally badass if you did, though. What a pussy move." It was Daniel's turn to roll his eyes, "Same Johnny." Raising his fourth finger, the brunette spoke.

"Anyways, rule number four: You are going to play nice. Politics have changed; just be nice, and nothing should happen." Daniel gave a small smile, "What, is everyone sensitive now?" the older man gave a look that answered this question, "Kind of— look, just be nice, John. Times change." Johnny mocks the older brunette with his hand in a motion of lips flapping. 

Daniel stuck out his thumb, "Knock it off and listen, this is the last rule. Rule number five: Be open-minded. Don't expect the same; things change in 34 years. I guess what I am trying to say is to expect the unexpected. I know that temper is something you struggle with, I struggle with keeping my mouth shut, but we have to work together. Got it?" 

"Whatever, old man." 

"Respect, John. Oh, by the way, what's your middle name?" Johnny rolled his eyes, not knowing exactly where it was going. He'll humor the older brunette. "William. Why do you need to know?"

"John William Lawrence. Feels weird; well, at least I can properly scold you if needed. Come on, let's go." The young blonde groans as they leave Daniel's bedroom. As the two descended down the stairs, Johnny was in awe at the living room. "Woah, you did good, Reseda boy." Daniel hummed in acknowledgment. "Let me grab my keys, and we'll be on our way." But the young teen was stopped in front of the television. "What's this?" 

"Tv."

"Holy shit, it's so flat!" Daniel smiles in amusement. He grabs his keys, phone charger, a couple of water bottles and tucks his phone into his pocket. "Okay, we'll probably pick some breakfast up after we figure out what's going on. Put on the shoes I gave you when we get outside; I bet he's wondering where I am by now." 

Daniel looks over at the blonde and notices that he kept running his hand through his hair. That’s right, Johnny always wore a black headband. He never knew exactly why, but now he gets it. Pretty boy had long bangs. So the older man thinks for a moment before snapping his fingers and pulling out his own headband that he stuffed in his back pocket. “Come here real quick.” 

“Why?” Daniel doesn’t respond, but he grabs a hold of Johnny’s shoulders and positions him in front of himself. Putting his white headband on the blonde was stupidly funnier than it should have been. After tying it snuggly around his head he quietly thanked Daniel. Which rendered him speechless. Either way, Daniel takes a moment to fantasize what Johnny would look like training with Mr. Miyagi.

But he snaps himself out and checks the clock on the microwave; it was 9:45 am, and they woke up around 8:00. The brunette hurries the younger teen out of the house, waiting for him to slip on the flip flops. After locking up, Daniel has to try his hardest not to laugh because the flip flops were just a tad too big for him, and he seemed to trip over his own feet every five steps or so. It would be a guarantee Johnny would eat shit if he ran. Daniel unlocks the car, "This is a car? What did they do to it? I can't tell if I like it or hate it." 

"Get in, Johnny. Put your seatbelt on; law took effect in 1986." The blonde huffed and reluctantly slid the belt over his chest and clicked it in as he shut the car door. Although the car was silent during the drive, Johnny could be seen staring out the window. Eyes lighting up every time he would see something new or different that caught his attention. He looks like a little kid fascinated with the world around him. Daniel couldn't help but think of how adorable it was. Then the older of the two turns on the radio, setting it to an older station; 106.3. Hoping it would play some 80's tunes; luckily, Take Me On by A-ha came on. 

"Woah, new song. Is this that new music that everyone listens to today?" Daniel internally screams, he replies calmly, "No, this is still 80's music, Johnny. I think this came out in 85 or 86. I put the old station on to make you feel a little more comfortable." They both let out a breath, letting the air around the two become tenser. By the end of the song, they finally made it to their destination in San Fernando Valley. They exited the vehicle, Daniel locked his car and led Johnny to keep close to him as they entered the complex. "Okay, stay close to me." Daniel stops in front of a door and knocks lightly.


	2. If Man Is Still Alive, If Woman Can Survive

A sound of a blood-curdling scream had the older blonde on his feet in a matter of seconds. His hands were already in an offensive placement as he stood in a fighting stance. His eyes were heavy, and he wipes the sleep out of his eyes as he listens to movements. The person who let out that scream was now hiding under the bed; he was holding a hand over his mouth to stop any sounds from being too loud from his breathing. The blonde snapped his head to his alarm clock as it sounded off, and the figure under the bed gasped in fear. After turning off the stupid thing, Johnny speaks, "Who are you, and why are you in my apartment? I'm not going to hurt you. I just need to know why you're here." After a few quiet moments, there was a soft voice, barely audible. "I don't know where I am. I went to bed in my own room, but when I woke up, I was here-- in your bed."

"Can you come out for me?" Johnny tries to coax the other male into removing himself from under the bed. "Depends. You promise you're not going to hurt me?" The older man rolls his eyes and promises, "I want to help you... So yeah, I promise I won't hurt you."

The male slides out from under the bed, but not without knocking his head on the frame. "Ow." Johnny could help but laugh, that is until a brunette stands in front of him. "LaRusso?" 

"How do you kn-- Electric blues eyes? Golden locks? Johnny fucking Lawrence!" The young Daniel freaks out and tries to book it out of the room. But when Johnny's body blocks him, the younger teen scrambles under the bed again. Daniel keeps thinking that if younger Johnny could hand him his ass on Halloween last month, then older Johnny could definitely kill him three times over. "Oh, why did I have to end up with an older version of Johnny?" Daniel whispers panickily to himself. 

"You know, I hear you, LaRusso. Look, I'm not going to hurt you. It's been 34 years since I met you. I'm sure we can work something out. Come on, stop being a pussy." Johnny just sits on the ground with his legs crossed, waiting out the little twerp. He was still tired and was blinking his eyes lazily. But in that second, the older blonde came up with an idea. "So, how's Mr. Miyagi?" Johnny knew he was already gone in 2020; whatever, if he could make a small connection, maybe he could get the little shit out from under his bed. "Why would you want to know? It's not like you like him anyway." So much for that.

"Look, kid, I'm trying to figure out what time you're from. Isn't it kinda odd that you showed up from 1984 to 2020?"

"Wait-- 2020. You can't be serious! Yesterday I was just doing kata training with Mr. Miyagi, and-and I'm in truce! W-With you and the other stupid Cobras. Aww, man! I was going to go on a date with Ali tonight." The mention of Ali made Johnny laugh a little, but he couldn't help but feel a twinge of sadness somewhere in his chest. "What are you laughing about?"

"Nothing… Well, it was impressive how obsessed we both were."

"What do you mean by that? I'm not obsessed!"

"Not yet, and it isn't with Ali either. Let's just say we wanted to rip each other's throat's out by the end of the first semester."

"But the truce?"

"We couldn't do it physically, but we could think about it. I've imagined it a couple of times, like ripping your throat out with my teeth; RoadHouse style. Oh, wait, didn't that come out in 89. Eeh, you get the idea." The young teen yelped and whispers, "Please don't rip my throat out." 

That made Johnny laugh, "No, I'm not going to rip your throat out, LaRusso. Anyway, I'm not going to sit here all day waiting for a scared little twerp like you to come out. I'm going to make some shit coffee. Come out if you want any." The blonde makes his way to the kitchen and scoops out some coffee into the filter before making his way to the door. He makes sure it is locked just in case the young brunette wants to book it again. If Johnny could barely navigate 2020, how the hell was this 1984 Daniel LaRusso going to do it? It would be best to keep him safe in his apartment. 

The moment he could hear some movement from his room, he was distracted by his cell phone ringing. It was LaRusso-- his LaRusso. Ew, that sounds like they were a couple. Johnny tried to ignore that comment. 

"LaRusso—" He started, but the other man cut him off. "John, I've got a situation. Not a situation— a problem!" Johnny silently groaned as he caught a flash of the brunette book it towards the door. In a struggling voice, the blonde tried to keep the conversation going. 

"Well, it looks like you're not the only one. I have something weird going on here…" Johnny rushed forward to grab the teen by his nightshirt before he could unlock his door. But being smaller and faster than the older blonde remembered, dogged him dashed towards the bathroom, "Get back here!" Johnny was out of breath when he grabbed the smaller teen once again. Daniel was struggling in Johnny's grip, and the teen only started his training, so there was not much he could do. Johnny didn't say anything else before the other man on the phone spoke in a hurry, "I'm coming over. Hold on tight, John." 

After hanging up the phone, he looks at the anxious teen. Johnny led him to the couch to sit and told him to stay, "I'm not a dog!"

"Better than being sprayed with water if you make a move." Johnny held the temping stare. Daniel looked away, conceding. "That's what I thought."

Johnny pours himself a cup as the coffee machine beeps, "Want any coffee, kid? Wait-- I take that back. We don't need you with any more energy than what you have now. I need to be able to catch you if you run off."

But Daniel's breathing started to become irregular, "You okay, kid?" The teen's anxiety was spiking. He started hyperventilating, and Johnny had never seen the older brunette go through this. That or his has never been around when this had happened. So the blonde was completely lost as Daniel begins hiccupping. Johnny takes a glass, fills it up with water, and quickly moves to the younger boy. "Daniel, I need you to breathe for me, here. The older man pushed the glass of water into the smaller teen's hands. The male's hyperventilation calms a little, but it doesn't go away. "Keep sipping, kid. Someone is on their way." Daniel nods and tries to control his breathing without success. 

Luckily, after five more minutes of Johnny pacing and Daniel hyperventilation, there was a knock on the door. "Keep breathing, kid. You're doing great." The brunette teen stuck his hand up above his head in a thumbs-up motion.


	3. In The Year 2525,  They May Find…?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please forgive me if it is confusing. It is harder to write when there is two Johnnys and two Daniels in the same room. But I hope you enjoy!

Johnny opens the door a crack, and both older men greet each other at the same time. "LaRusso—" "Lawrence—"

Daniel let Johnny continue, "Oh, thank God you're here. I don't know what to do!" The older blonde swings the door wide open to reveal a hyperventilating younger version of the man in front of him. Daniel grabs younger Johnny's wrist, pulls him into the apartment, and leaves him by older Johnny. "Is that…?" The older blonde nods, confirms that Daniel's younger self had made it in this time frame as well. 

The blondes both are speechless and silently judging each other. Johnny notices the young blonde with Mr. Miyagi's headband. "Here, let's fix this." He unties it and grabs his old headband from his room, and upon returning, he switches it out. He holds onto the white band until Daniel fixes whatever happened to his young self.

They decide to watch older Daniel to avoid conversation. The older brunette kneels down as the same size as his younger self when he sits. He takes his younger self's arms into his hands to grab his attention. "Okay, Daniel… I want you to breathe. In and out. Look, follow me, In and out." The older Daniel leads, the younger in a breathing exercise he learned years later. "Think of Mr. Miyagi; he would want you to be strong. Now, how do you feel?" 

"Better." The younger felt instantly calmer, and his young doe eye was directed back at older doe ones. Daniel made a remark to his Johnny, "I can see why you hated me. Those eyes, you can't say no to them." He laughed, and younger Daniel flushed over while the Johnnys made an amused hum making the blondes look at each other strangely. 

Then the older blonde added his two cents," I don't know if it's me, but little LaRusso is tinier than I remember. That or maybe I'm just taller." 

The middle-aged brunette agrees, "No, no. I see it. But you have to admit that the young blondie over there has the cutest cheeks. God, having kids really did change my view on the youth."

The two men continue to gush over their younger selves until young Johnny tells them to knock it off. "Look, I don't know why I'm here, but the universe must hate me because I'm not stuck with not one fucking LaRusso, but two. Do you know how annoying that could get? Holy shit, I'm going to be stuck with two LaRussos— I'm gonna go mad!" Young Johnny was slightly freaking out over the matter. "And— one's got parenting rights over me— the other's got a witty mouth that I can't escape from!"

Daniel spoke, "John, I've helped mine. You should probably help him." The older blonde nods but is unsure if he knew what he was doing. Plus, it was weird looking at himself straight in the face. "John— look. LaRusso is… uh, not that bad."

"Not that bad?! Listen to yourself! Uh, ourselves? We do not like LaRusso! He has a big bossy mouth that can't keep his thoughts to himself. Themselves? Fuck, this is already fucking with my brain! Don't get me started with Ali—" Older Daniel had enough, and younger Daniel hid behind the couch to watch the scene unfold.

"Look, we are all going to have to play nice. I know we can get on each other's nerves, but we have to figure out what the hell happened here. We can't do that if we are all fighting. Remember the rules, John."

"See there he goes again!" Younger Johnny was livid, but then the young Daniel finally spoke up, "Leave my older self alone, Johnny! I can kick your ass now! Well… not me per se, but my older self can!" The young blonde was done, "Okay, twerp, that's it!" He was about to stomp up the other hiding on the other side of the sofa when the older brunette had to step in again. "Okay enough! You two, stop it!" He turned to older Johnny with an exaggerated look. "I don't remember being this bad. Were we?"

"No, this is about right." Daniel rolled his eyes, then he turned to the younger ones, "Okay, look, you two. John and I are going to go talk in the room to see what we are going to do. Please, for the love of God, don't kill each other. If you do, we will cease to exist. That means you too, Daniel." His younger self gave him a surprised expression, "Hey! I never did anything!"

"You know you rile him up. Stop initiating his temper; you know he's hotheaded. But no, you push it. Well, I know I push it still and Johnny, ignore him. He's an idiot and doesn't know how to deal with silence. We have a tendency to fill the quietness. So both of you behave. Come on, John." With that, the middle aged brunette grabs the older blonde and drags into the other room. 

Daniel seemed to be in thought as they settled in the next room, Johnny was the first to start the conversion. "So how the hell are we going to keep them from killing each other when we can barely keep ourselves from killing each other ourselves?"

"That is… a very good question. Well, we have to do something; I just don't know how this all happened. But we have to come up with a plan in the meantime." Daniel sighs and peaks into the other room where their younger selves seem to be bickering with spatial distance. Johnny leans closer to Daniel to also get a look before chuckling, "Looks like we have kids of our own. So what's the plan genus? I got nothing."

"First off, don't refer to them as our kids. That's weird. Second, we can't keep them locked up for however long they are stuck here. Wait—! I have an idea. This is going to sound absolutely insane." The brunette snapped his fingers when the idea came to him. Johnny, on the other hand, looks at him suspiciously, "What?" His eyes narrow, but Daniel slowly continues, unsure if it is such a great idea in theory. "Hear me out. I struggle with offense, right? And you… struggle with defense."

"Where are you going with this, LaRusso?" 

"The best way to keep an eye on them is to have them in our classes. I put younger you in Miyagi-do and my younger self in Cobra Kai. Of course, your Cobra Kai is nothing like Kreese's, right?"

Johnny was absolutely shocked at his suggestion. "No, of course not. How dare you assume that my Cobra Kai is the same as his. But you; you want to put them in opposite classes? No, outta the question."

"Come on, Johnny! What if your student recognizes that he looks suspiciously like you? You can't lie and say you have another kid. I have Samantha in my class, I can't tell her that I have a long lost firstborn or something. Come on, it's the only way we can supervise them." Johnny sighs, and he really didn't have another idea, so this might be the only option. "Fine, but I'm not going to treat him differently than the other students."

"I wasn't expecting you to. Plus, maybe we might be able to get them to get along. Don't you ever wish things were different? Maybe this is our chance."

"I hate that you have a point." Johnny glares at Daniel while he gives him a smug smile, "I'm sorry, I didn't quite catch that. Could you possibly repeat that?" 

"Fuck you, Larusso." Daniel rolls his eyes, but his attention was diverted when they both heard yelling erupting from the main room where they left the other two. "I'm going to kill you!!"

"Help!" The two ran into the living room to see younger Johnny towering over Daniel, grabbing him by his nightshirt and lifting him up. "Hey, hey, hey!" Daniel grabbed Johnny and John caught Daniel in his arms before he would hit the carpet. Older Johnny yells, "What the hell happened? We left the room for ten to fifteen minutes!"

"He went crazy after we were talking about our styles of karate. I said that his style made him into an asshole!" Johnny growled, "Yeah, well, yours makes you look like a pussy!" Daniel spits out an insult, "Fuck you, Lawrence! At least I have discipline, and a good mentor, unlike you! Mr. Miyagi is like a father to me."

"Well, so is Kreese! You just don't get it LaRusso, he's a good mentor if you open your eyes and stop being so hardheaded!" Daniel scoffs, "Well, then you have daddy issues." That was it, Johnny launched his whole body at the other young brunette. Johnny was on top of him and rolling about the floor exchanging blows, a punch here and there. The older men sprang into action to try to get them separated. 

The older blonde plucks the young brunette and slings him over his shoulder while Daniel body blocks the blonde while locking his arms behind his back. Johnny struggles in older Daniel's grip while young Daniel is kicking and hitting Johnny's back, demanding to be put down. 

Daniel holding onto the other man's younger self, he had forgotten to share the main rules with him. "Fuck, John! John! You can't tell them our present or their future!" After a few seconds, he gets a confirmation that the older blonde heard him. "Told you to ignore him!" 

"Oh, I'm sorry, that's kinda hard when he was talking his head off! I told him to shut up then he brought up karate and the truce. Excuse me for trying to engage in a civil conversation! God LaRusso, you are so annoying when you are my age. Can you let go of me now?"

Daniel does lightly, "Well, you are just going to have to try harder, much harder. And it, Mr. LaRusso to you, from now on I'm Mr. LaRusso, and he is Daniel. Treat him with respect, and he should return the favor. If he won't, we'll talk to him. Now sit, I'm with this bullshit already. Go on, sit on the sofa. We are going to wait for the other two." Daniel watched young Johnny sit on the sofa with a large frown. He sits next to him. 

In the bedroom with the older blonde trying to stay calm and young Daniel who is whining. "—but, but, he talked down about Mr. Miyagi!"

"Yeah, I know. Look, kid, you really struck a huge nerve about the last comment you made. That was not okay either. Daniel and I are going to help both of you as much as we can without getting into it ourselves. Just try to watch what you say, and don't talk so much. Your voice gets annoying, just saying."

Daniel crosses his arms across his chest, "Rude." Johnny rolls his eyes, "It's true, also stop being such a smart ass and cool it with the sarcasm. That should fix things for a little bit. Apparently, I can't tell you much, but what I think I can say is that there is so much more to me than meets the eye." That comment stuck out to the younger brunette; he thought about it for a minute then nodded. With a relief sigh from Johnny, he led the younger to the living room once again. Older Daniel stood up, "You guys done?"

"Yeah, now what?" Daniel signals himself to sit next to young Johnny. Older Johnny stands next to Daniel. The two sitting look like they were in trouble with their parents. "Okay, rules." Daniel goes over the rules again for the other two so that they were in the loop. Both of the youngsters looked unhappy and slightly pouty. "Lastly, John and I sort of agreed that we will continue to teach you karate while you are stuck here." 

Both perked up at that, but either of them knew the catch. Older Daniel continues with a sparkle in his brown eyes, and wide smile, "Johnny will be training with me, and Daniel will be training with John."


	4. In The Year 3535,  Ain't Gonna Need to Tell The Truth, Tell No Lies

The idea was simple, young Daniel was going to train with Johnny at Cobra Kai, and young Johnny was going to train with Daniel at Miyagi-do. Something the older men had reluctantly agreed upon like functioning adults. However, it did seem to result in screaming among the younger boys. The young teens were shouting, yelling, and screaming at each other, trying to get their two cents in as to why this was a stupid idea.

“I am NOT going to be put into that pussy training!”

“Yeah, well I don’t want to become an asshole like YOU!”

“An Asshole? LOOK in the mirror twerp!”

“FUCK YOU, Lawrence!”

“FUCK YOU, LaRusso!”

The older men blink at each other for a moment. Eventually, the yelling turns into a type of all-out begging. Younger Daniel took his older hands into his younger ones and begged, "Please, don't make me go. You know how scary Kreese can be! I only met him once, and I had shivers for a week after! A-and if Johnny is going to teach me, forget it! He's going to embarrass me in front of everyone! I don't trust him, please, please don't do this to yourself!" Older Daniel thought for a moment. He couldn't really tell his younger self about his horrific time at Cobra Kai with Silver, but Johnny's Cobra Kai was much tamer. 

Did he trust Johnny? Short answer, yeah; yeah, he did. He knows this will be good for himself, under a controlled Cobra Kai environment. "You'll be fine, I trust him now. Plus, Kreese won't be there. I can't tell you why, but he's not."

As Daniel's begging had been denied, Johnny gave it a shot. "Oh, come on! Please, I can't beg on my knees! It's a pussy move! You do know how annoying LaRusso is; you seriously can't expect me to do that, kata— bullshit! That's not karate, That's fucking yoga or whatever. And for the love of God, if I have to be around those stupid little tree things, I'm going to explode!"

The young blonde was cut off from his rant when the other two brunettes cut in to correct him "It's called a bonsai." Both Daniels smile and both Johnnys roll their eyes. Older Johnny speaks, "Look, I know it looks like pussy moves, but if it is going to help with defense, I'll allow it. Plus, as much as I hate to say it— I kinda— sorta trust LaRusso…" Daniel had a moment of surprise on his face but wiped it off as quickly as it appeared and cleared his throat. 

Young Daniel cuts in, "You're condoning this?? We fight about everything, and you are agreeing with my older self? I can not believe this!" Young Johnny crosses his arms and plops down on the sofa, "Wow, and I thought I couldn't hate myself more." He puffs out a sigh making his blonde bangs fly up and fall messily on his face. He glares at everyone in the room, "Why can't you two just teach us privately? I can still learn defense from old twerp, and this twerp can learn offense from older me." 

The older blonde had to agree, "Kid's got a point." But Daniel had a different opinion, "Stop calling us twerp! The rules Johnny, the rules. Daniel and Mr. LaRusso. I'm not going to tell you again. Lastly, do you want to be stuck inside for who knows how long? It could be weeks, months, or hopefully not; a year. Do you really want to go that long without talking to anyone but us four? Even I think we would go crazy. We can barely handle each other when there are only two of us; now there are four." Yeah, that's probably not a great idea. Someone is definitely going to murder one of us.

The young brunette brings up a problem, "Uhh… What are people going to call us? If you two are Daniel and Johnny," He points to the older men, "then, what are we?" He then points to himself and the younger blonde. Everyone but young Daniel cuss at the same time, "Shit." Daniel sat back on the sofa, crossed his arms, and gingerly put his feet up on the small coffee table in front of the other men, "Yeah, shit. So, what's the plan on that?"

"Wait, can't we just use our middle names?" Older Daniel smiles at (his) Johnny's idea, "Yeah, why didn't I think about that?" He turned to the teens and pointed respectively, "Your, William; and your, Ralph."

"How the hell do you know my middle name, LaRusso?" The older blonde is genuinely confused, but the blonde teen raises his hand, "Guilty as charged, he asked; I told. Worst mistake ever." Johnny looks to his young self in disbelief, then to Daniel, who had a smug smile and raised eyebrows, "Okay, any other objections?" Daniel searches his younger self's face, but the young teen replies nonchalantly, "Nah, I'm cool with Ralph." He gives a thumbs up.

"Great. Uhh, next problem. Clothes, I may have some old clothes in an old hope chest. I think my mother snuck some in there, but it's at the house. Or it might be at Miyagi’s. Do you have anything, John?"

"I have no idea; I'll have to check. Most of my stuff was thrown out once Mom died, and Sid just chucked everything— oh, fuck, I wasn't supposed to say that." The older blonde screws his eyes shut in panic and carefully looks to his younger self. His mother was always a touchy subject, even now. But his teen self must be in the middle of exploding, and his prediction was correct. The shock on his face was apparent to everyone in the room, but as expected, he kept his emotions bottled up and excused himself to the bathroom. Johnny knew himself very well, and he had a strong feeling that his younger self was going to have a mental breakdown. "Huh, so he's got mommy issues too. Who would have thought?"

The older men both gasped, "Keep a leash on your teen, LaRusso. I am about to wring his neck!" Johnny stormed his way out of the room to check on his younger teen; Daniel, on the other hand, began to scold himself. "How dare you mention something like that about someone who has died! You are definitely apologizing to both of them for that, and I know I'm not supposed to tell you things about the future, but this is for your understanding. Imagine someone saying that about Mr. Miyagi; he passed away in 2011."

"Mr. Miyagi… died?" The horror in his face gave away sadness and panic. "Yes, it's still hard for me to remember that he can't help and guide me the way he used to. I miss him dearly." He could tell that young Daniel was feeling a little guilty, but he was quiet about it. 

Over by the bedrooms, Johnny could hear some things crashing inside the bathroom; he knocks on the door, "Hey, look, I'm sorry I dropped a bomb on you earlier. I know what she meant to us. Although she never stood up for us after Sid started hitting her back, she still loves us very much. I know I can't tell you much, but you'll have to trust me. You'll find out eventually, but she did. And for you, she still does; Sid is a piece of trash, but enjoy having your mother for as long as you can. Otherwise, you'll regret it." 

There was a faint sniff on the other side of the door, but after a few seconds, the door was unlocked. With an audible click, Johnny speaks, "Take your time; I'll see if I have any clothes for you. Give me a sec." As Johnny went to rummage through some old boxes and suitcases, while Daniel ordered his younger self to stay in the main living room. Daniel stared at the bathroom door like he wanted to say something, but he could figure out what. Soon a whisper could be heard through the door, "Mr. LaRusso, I know you're there." 

"Look, I am sorry about your mother. I had no idea that he was going to say that, you know, about your parents. Totally uncalled for. I'll tell you something, this isn't new information, but my father died when I was eight. He died of a terminal illness, but I felt guilty for a long time for not spending enough time with him when he was alive. I had to hold his hand as he passed away. It's why Mr. Miyagi is such a father figure to me."

"SCORE!" The moment between Daniel and the younger blonde was cut short when a loud shout of excitement. "I found some shirts and a couple of pants. Let's hope they fit." Johnny jogged back to where Daniel was and knocked lightly on the door to pass his younger self some of the clothes he found. The young blonde cracked the door open and gladly took it. 

The men started talking softly, "John, I had no idea he was going to say something like that. Even that surprised me, and he is me."

"It's fine LaRusso, I've heard worse from you. It's not a big deal. They're frustrated."

"No, Johnny, it's not alright."

"Look, the fact that you are not okay with what he said proves that you've grown up. We still fight, argue, and bicker. What's the difference?"

"That's not the point—"the door opens to reveal a well dressed Johnny Lawrence plucked straight from 1984. The light blue plaid button-up shirt was slightly faded, but the white undershirt was a nice combination. His shirt was tucked into the dark brown jeans that he was wearing and matches nicely. 

Both adults look at each other, "Very 80's." Then both cringed. Daniel knew he had to get clothes for his younger self but wasn't about to leave both teens in Johnny's presence. "Wanna come to Miyagi's with me?"

"Sure, I've got nothing today; I moved today's Saturday class tomorrow." Daniel nods and leads them to grab something in the living room. "Oh wait— Daniel. Go on." 

"Go on… what?"

"Nice try. Wanna try again? Remember, Mr. Miyagi, and use what our ma gave us."

He sighs and guiltily looks up with his baby browns at both Johnnys, "I'm sincerely sorry for insulting your parents, role models, and possibly a mentor." Young Daniel's Bambi eyes gave a suspicious twinkle.

Adult Johnny looks at Daniel with an impressed expression, and (his) Daniel returns a smirk. "Atta-boy. Let go!" He opens the door to the apartment and escorts young Daniel out of the apartment with Johnny behind him, then younger Johnny. Snatching his phone, the keys to his car, and the apartment, Daniel locks the door from the inside before closing it. 

The young blonde snorted, "Should I not mention how this feels like a weird family road trip in the most bizarre way possible?" The young brunette couldn't argue, "No, I definitely feel it. Aaand, I hate it." The teens were forced to sit in the back while Johnny sat in the passenger seat. "Johnny, you better put your seatbelt on! Oh, you too, Daniel. It's the law now." The young blonde rolled his eyes, and he watched teen Daniel click in his belt. But when the vehicle started moving, Johnny made no effort to listen to 'Mr. LaRusso'. The young brunette notices.

Daniel whispered in a stern voice, but careful that the adult couldn't hear them. "Do it, Johnny, you know what older me said." The young blonde just flipped him off. "Fine, John. If you crack your head open, don't come crying to any one of us." With the mention of possibly cracking his head open, he huffed and casually clicked his belt in. The other teen hid a small smile.


	5. Everything You Think, Do, And Say is In The Pill You Took Today… In The Year 3535

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry for the Supernatural reference! XD I just wanted an excuse to use the Bitch/Jerk. Anyways, please enjoy.

The ride was interesting, to say the least. It only took them about twenty minutes to get there; however, it had to be the weirdest twenty minutes ever. In the front, Daniel and Johnny were arguing over the music, and Johnny and Daniel in the back were arguing over the old truce and Ali. It was a little chaotic, but eventually, things settled down enough that the bickering wasn't distracting older Daniel from driving. The most bizarre thing was being able to look, hear, and talk to themselves. Either way, it was quiet the last five minutes, and the teens were looking out the window with wonderment. As the older brunette parks outside of his mentor's house, the younger brunette gasps. "Oh my God, it hasn't changed!" This comment sparked some chuckles from the men. 

"Come, you two." Daniel watches his younger self with endearment and waits for the rest to exit the vehicle. With an audible 'beep,' the car was locked. The brunette teen opened the wooden gate and walked into the open yard. "It feels like I never left! Oh hey, that's new!" He was referring to the punching bag and the balancing pond. Daniel went off to explore; however, the young blonde sits on the small porch looking bored. Older Johnny follows (his) Daniel into the house. Once inside, he turns to the other man, "You love him, don't you?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Admit it, LaRusso. You like your teen self. I can see it when you look at him; it's like nostalgia, isn't it. I kinda feel it too. But, I also feel bad for my younger self." He cringes at LaRusso; he hadn't meant to say that last part, "It's complicated." 

"I'm sure it is, all of this is. There is a couch over there; feel free to sit while I look for that stupid hope chest." Johnny nods and lets his body fall limp onto the soft couch. Daniel ventures into Mr. Miyagi's old room. After he passed away, Daniel had put everything that had sentimental value into that room. It's where all the photos he used to redecorate the dojo came from. His hope chest was a vintage 1950s Bermuda Samsonite suitcase, and it was green, so it shouldn't be hard to find. Daniel wouldn't be lying if he said it took a while to look in every box in the decent sized room, but he could kick himself because once he checked the small closet; it was right there. Sitting there in its own lonesome. 

With a smile, he pulled the large suitcase out and hauled it downstairs. "Hey man, I found it. John? John, where are you?" Daniel shrugged and made his way to the couch. That where he found the blonde passed out, "John, wake up." He then tossed the other man's legs down so he could sit, causing Johnny to jolt awake. "Dude, seriously?"

"Look, I found it." When Daniel opened it, his face contorted into happiness, sadness, and grief as the memories hit him like a brick. The first thing he did see was the clothes, but on top was the red kimono he wore in Okinawa. Daniel sighs and sets the clothes his younger self will wear to the side. He gives himself permission to get sentimental. "Well, I guess those are for Daniel… Holy shit."

"What's that?" Johnny watches as Daniel grabs a stack of yellowed folded papers. "They're letters from Okinawa." Daniel opens one up and lets his thumb caress over the writing. "Kumiko." Then he looked over to the right and picked up a tiny pot; he chuckles, "And Jessica." 

"What are you talking about? Who are these girls?" Johnny eyes him suspiciously. "Long separate stories for another time. Oh, here—" Daniel handed him a couple of photos, one of Kumiko dancing and one of Jessica laughing.

"LaRussos' got game. After Ali?" The brunette rolled his eyes, "After Ali. Besides, Kumiko was a summer thing, and Jessica had a crush on me, but I didn't feel the same back. We were friends." Johnny made an 'ah' expression. "Do you mind going and telling Daniel to come for his clothes? I've got to put this back before he sees it and begs me to know his future." With a nod from the blonde, Daniel packs things back into the chest except for the clothes.

As Johnny opens the front door, he sees himself lying down in front of one of the wooden pillars holding up the porch roof. His arm crossed under his head to support his head and neck. His legs were also crossed, but he was leaning on the roof support above him. 

"Comfortable much?" The older blonde raises an eyebrow and waits for the teen to respond. "Not really, my goal is to improve my mood. The only way that is happening is for me to stay as far away from LaRusso. Either of them. So far, I haven't seen much change. But having some peace and quiet is doing wonders right now, so I can't complain." 

"Nice to hear, but do you know where the loudmouth is? We found some clothes he can wear." Older Johnny studies the teen's face; he was staring at the roof, chewing his lip. It was apparent that he was bored but content. It's the most chill position he can picture his younger self in. As a teen, he was always wound up for some reason, always tense, could never get a break. "Not a clue. He went off snooping or some shit."

"What direction?" The teen lifts his head up and looks at the yard. After a moment, he points to the left. "That way." The older blonde thanks him lightly and makes his way behind the house.

After older Daniel puts the chest away, he steps outside to get some fresh air. He was greeted with the young blonde teen in that same position the other blonde saw him in only a few minutes before. "So, did you find clothes for 'Daniel'?"

The older man raises an eyebrow, "Actually, yeah. Hey, how are you doing anyway? With all of this?"

"Why? There is nothing I can do to change anything. Why does it matter? Let's face it. We are stuck here. So, I guess— fantastic." Sarcasm was dripping off his tongue, but he was being somewhat honest. He didn't really want to be stuck here in 2020, but it does beat having to deal with his stepfather on a daily basis. Daniel sits on the porch step next to the teen, making him switch sitting positions. He mirrored the brunette to sit like him so he could look at him while they talked.

"Well, we'll figure this out. All of us." Daniel had a more optimistic outlook on the predicament; however, on the inside, he was nervous that they wouldn't be able to get the teens back to where they're supposed to be timeline-wise. 

Johnny wasn't much for 'feeling talk,' but he has a feeling that LaRusso was hiding something. "Let me ask you something, Mr. LaRusso. You say I struggle with defense, and Daniel struggles with offense. But what's the real reason you are having us train in opposite dojos?"

Daniel sighs, "Okay, you caught me. Your older self and I, we struggle to understand each other, for obvious reasons. But I've never hated you, and after some drinking… John agreed that he never hated me. We just can't seem to be on the same page on anything. That's what frustrates us; he knows exactly what buttons to push, and so do I. But because we've always fought, it's just easier to fall into the same rhythm. Sometimes I wish things were different, but we're stuck in our ways. It's definitely too late to fix anything." Daniel looks off into the yard pondering.

"Do you ever think that maybe, it could happen?" Johnny didn't know what to expect, but he would be lying if he said that he wasn't curious. Daniel looks at the young blonde. "Honestly?"

"Honestly." The blonde looks down at his feet.

"No." The answer was more shocking than it should have been. It was simple and obvious that he should have expected that answer, but there was a little disappointment that stuck to Johnny. "Oh. That's depressing."

"You're telling me. If you need anything just let me know. I'll be inside waiting for Daniel." That left the teen to think about what had happened.

Over where the older blonde was looking for the other teen, he searched for where he might be. "Daniel?" Johnny finds a small building that housed the dojo. "Daniel!" He opens the sliding door to find the young brunette practicing the small amount of kata he has learned from Mr. Miyagi. 

Daniel turns to the sound of the door opening. His voice was calm and soft, "Oh, hi, Mr. Lawrence. Is something wrong?" Johnny felt uncomfortable with how relaxed the teen was. It was a strange feeling; he knew things have changed with older Daniel and himself; however, this was different. They're grown men now, but watching the boy he tormented in high school be completely content with talking to him was undoubtedly concerning. 

"No, but LaRusso found you some clothes."

"Oh, okay." The teen chuckles and places his hands on his hips, "Hearing my name in third person will never be something I'll get used to." After a pause, he spoke again," Mr. Lawrence?"

Johnny stepped closer, "Yeah?" He shifted a little and began chewing on his lip, like his younger self, when he talked to him earlier.

Daniel sighs, "I really am sorry... for what I said. I don't know why I said it. I feel like if I bite back just as hard as Johnny does, maybe he would leave me alone. If he can dish it out, so can I, right? Help him see me as an equal, you know? Sounds stupid, trust me, I know."

The blonde face softens, "It's not all that stupid. Hey, why are you telling me this?"

"Look, I don't know. It's really strange." The teen looks up at the blonde with a twisted expression of confusion and amusement. "What?"

"Isn’t it weird? I don’t trust Cobra Kai, but I somehow trust you more than I trust him?" Johnny doesn't reply. But he didn't think Daniel wanted a reply because he shrugged and walked out to meet his older self in the house for the clothes. Johnny really didn't know what to make out of that conversation. 

With Daniel making his way back to the house, he walked up onto the porch. Young Johnny was in a different position with his back leaning on the wooden support beam, and his legs stretched out and crossed in front of him. As Daniel made his way to the house, Johnny moves his legs just slightly to trip the other teen. "Oops"

"Jerk!" Daniel yells.

Johnny bites back, "Bitch."

Johnny smiles, and Daniel rolls his eyes. In the end, the clothes fit perfectly. It consisted of a dark blue plaid button-up flannel with a light blue undershirt and some blue jeans. Of course, those were faded as well, but nothing could be done about that. 

Now, the main thing was that training was starting tomorrow, yet the four of them had no idea what the plan was to keep themselves from killing each other until then. 


	6. In The Year 4545, Ain't Gonna Need Your Teeth, Won't Need Your Eyes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a bit longer than normal, I hope you enjoy this one!

The two adults were in the middle of arguing over sleeping arrangements. The only reason the teens knew this was because, during the conversation, the older brunette had asked his younger self to step back outside so he could 'discuss' things with older Johnny. Once he shut the door behind him, the two inside started yelling. The younger blonde snorts," I guess it's their turn." Daniel plops down next to the other teen in silence. He rested his elbow on his knees and placed his chin in his palm; he huffs in exaggeration. 

Inside the house, Daniel yells, "Just because they're young doesn't mean they're stupid! They are old enough to understand this strange situation. They'll be fine." Daniel is leaning on the back of the couch, trying to keep his voice down. However, he wasn't doing an outstanding job when the other blonde could easily get under his skin. 

The other man acted like the teens couldn't behave like adults for any specific amount of time. Just because they are at each other's throats doesn't mean they can't put their differences aside for a little bit. If he and (his) Johnny could do it, so could they. With the conversation he had earlier with the blonde teen, he had new hope sprouting. 

Johnny stopped pacing and stood in a defensive stance, "You're putting words in my mouth, LaRusso. I just said that if they are going to sleep in the same room or place, one is going to maul the other. History suggests it likely points to Daniel." Johnny crosses his arms over his chest. He didn't know how to explain it, but he had a newfound feeling of being protective over the young brunette. He trusted his younger self; however, he can't ignore remembering how much he wanted to hurt the other teen. 

Daniel couldn't believe how much Johnny had given up. "John, they can do this. Do you think so low of yourself? Do you have any faith in us?" The blonde looks away to glare at the wall, and this pretty much answers his first question. 

However, he spoke with a stern yet calm tone, "Not really. Look at us LaRusso, we're fighting over where everyone sleeps. Over things that happened 36 years ago. What do you think it is like for them? They're experiencing it right now. All I'm trying to say is that it's all fresh; anything could still happen." And for once it clicks for Daniel, Johnny is worried. 

Daniel takes a steady step towards the other man. He made his face softer and lets his brown eyes connect with Johnny's electric blues, "I get what you're saying, but don't you want things to change?" 

Johnny sighs, "Yeah, but we can't go on and be forcing it, Daniel." He runs a hand through his bangs and copies Daniel's posture. He moved so that they were next to each other, leaning on the back of the couch as well. 

Daniel's head swivels quickly towards Johnny on his left in surprise, "You-you—"The blonde didn't notice the crucial mistake he made, "What?"

Daniel couldn't quite make eye contact. "You… called me Daniel." He spoke so softly, the other man had to struggle a little to hear what he said.

Johnny adverts his gaze immediately and clears his throat, "So? It was the only way for me to get through to your thick skull." Although he wasn't wrong, he felt like it was the perfect cover for the slip-up. However, the brunette picked up on Johnny's body language of being more closed off than normal. "Something's different; what happened with you and Daniel?"

Johnny brushes it off, "Nothing; it's not a big deal." But it was a big deal. It was the first time that he had a real glimpse of what it was like for the other teen in high school. Though it was short, it just stuck with him. Daniel calls on Johnny's bullshit, "It obviously is."

"Fine. I walked in while he was doing kata or whatever, and he apologized again. More sincerely too, but uh— he told me something that stuck with me. He told me that he didn't trust Cobra Kai, but he somehow trusted me more than my teen self. He seemed very confused like he didn't understand what he wanted. Why he was feeling that way, and he looked convinced that it's stupid to trust me." Johnny felt weird holding trust from the brunette teen like he didn't know what to do with it. Having the young teen be so hard on himself for trusting an older version of his younger self set off a couple of red flags of reality. "I did a lot of damage, didn't I?"

Daniel blinked at the other man but was lost for words. Johnny was staring at his feet, and the brunette spoke gently. "John, I'm not going to lie to your face. The truth is, yes, you did. But, you have to remember, this was a long time ago. You were a different person— I was a different person back then. I know you've grown, you're stuck in your ways— sometimes, but you've matured— somewhat. In some other ways, so have I. You're not the only one who had a one-to-one with the teens. I talked to Johnny, and he found it depressing that we still can't get along. It's like he wants to try but doesn't know where to start or how."

Hearing that his younger self wanted to fix this was oddly comforting. However, quite surprising. It could probably be the guilt from Halloween; he has always been a little guilty about that. Especially when it happened, if he had to change anything, it would be that and the tournament. The only one who knew was Bobby; he would always talk to him about stuff like that. Johnny finally spoke, "Do we have a shot?"

Daniel gives a faltering smile, "I think so." Feeling the decision's weight on his shoulders, Johnny doubted it, "This could change everything. Are we ready for that?"

The brunette assures him, "What I think is— it's now or never." Johnny, desperate to change the subject slightly, continues, "Fine, but that doesn't answer the question. Do we watch them like hawks or give them their privacy and cross our fingers that we wake up; hope nobody's dead?"

Daniel, being the better parent, jumps straight into the role, giving a suggestion, "I say, give them the benefit of the doubt. We give them a chance, and if something happens, privacy will be breached until we can trust them to be together by themselves." Johnny rubs his face, "Okay, I'm starting to think— maybe we can pull this off."

Back outside, the teens were talking civilly for the first time since they were zapped to 2020. Johnny runs a hand through his bangs, "So what do you think they're arguing about?" 

Daniel spoke in a monotone voice and shrugged, "Probably something stupid and petty. They kinda kicked me out when it started, and the last thing was them discussing where all of us were going to sleep."

Johnny hums in agreement; however, as he responded, his voice was low. "Sounds about right. Hey, do you think we'll be stuck here forever?" The blonde stares off into the sky, feeling like he wouldn't mind staying here. If he did stay here, he wouldn't have to be worried about school, Sid, or Kreese. It's refreshing to get away from all the crap he has to deal with at home. Even if it meant that he would never see his friends or his mother ever again. It would be better than watching Sid beat his mother day in and day out. 

Daniel takes in the possibility, "Only if we don't figure out what got us here in the first place. But to me, that seems almost impossible." He picks up a small rock, inspecting it. He thinks about how he might not be able to see Mr. Miyagi ever again. "Either way, messing with the past will always change something in the future. If we stay here, our timeline will be all screwed up. Let's hope we can figure this out."

Johnny mumbles under his breath to himself, "I don't think I want to go back." But Daniel heard it because the yelling from the inside has come to a quieter volume. "Why? Is there something you're not telling me?"

"It's none of your business, man." The blonde teen stiffens, let the other know it's an off-limit topic. Daniel didn't pry, "Suit yourself." Johnny, after a moment he perks up, "You hear that? I think they're done fighting." As he said that, the door opens, revealing the older men. 

Older Daniel jumps straight to informing the younger teens, "The plan is that we will set you guys up in the dojo. I have a spare room in there, but there are two beds where you'll both be bunking. John and myself are going to be in the main house. If you guys have any problems, we'll leave the back door open for you guys. The last thing is, we want you two to behave. We have faith that you can act like adults until we can get you back home. You're stuck here; either way, let's not make it harder. Now, if anything happens, like any type of bullying, such as verbal or physical, we take away your privacy, and we will watch you like a hawk. And yes, the same rules apply to both of you; that means no initiating, no pushing buttons, no name-calling, and no karate unless one of your older selfs is present. However, bickering and teasing is allowed. For example, last names can be used." 

"Sounds easier said than actually is." Younger Daniel says while crossing his arm over his chest and shooting a soft glare at the other teen. Older Johnny jumps in, "Don't start. We are giving both of you clean slates; we suggest you take it."

So they set up the spare room in the dojo for the boys. With extra blankets, pillows, and a deck of cards were given to the teens. After the room was set up, older Daniel helped get older Johnny's room comfortable for him as well. It didn't take long, and everyone seemed to be content with the result of their bunking rooms. After everything was settled, Daniel took his younger self to do kata in the dojo while Johnny sparred with his younger self in the front yard.

Daniel was watching to see how far long his teen self was into his training. However, it looks like he knew some kata. The older man had to correct the teen's techniques and posture, but other than that, he looked like he knew what he was doing. Older Daniel was hoping he could get him on the balancing pond with Johnny if things worked out the way he wanted. But there were no promises, so he didn't have his hopes up. The teen was in concentration, and older Daniel joins the younger teen in the same movements. The image of the two moving together in fluency was mesmerizing and captures the skill needed for inner balance in kata.

At the end of the sequence of movements, Daniel's cell phone rings, "What that sound?" The teen was utterly confused, but the older brunette made an acceptable excuse, "Uhh… pager. I'm going to step out real quick; just continue practicing." The younger of the two nodded as he restarted the routine. Once stepping out, he answered it, "Hello?"

The male voice indicated that it was Robby. "Hey, Mr. LaRusso, I was wondering if I could stop by the dojo to get some extra practice before tomorrow's lesson?" Daniel was worried he would find out about the teens in a strange way, so he made an excuse. "Oh, hey, Robby-- I'm kinda busy, and the dojo is in use right now. How about I give you extra hours tomorrow after class?"

"I'm sorry, I can't. I booked time to visit my mother at the institution. Can we do a rain check?" Robby's voice had a hint of confusion as he wasn't expecting Daniel to turn him down for practice. "Sure, how about next Sunday practice?" The voice over the phone hesitated, "Yeah, I think I'm free after class." Daniel let out a relieved sigh, "Great, thanks, send my wishes to Shannon for me."

“I will.” As the brunette hung up the phone, Johnny caught up to Daniel, “Who was that?”

“Robby, he wanted more practice today. I told him I was busy and that the dojo was occupied.” Johnny showed a hint of sadness in his eyes, but hid it immediately, “That’s probably for the best.”

“Yeah, but I don’t like lying to him.” Johnny nodded, “I know what you mean, but it’s better he doesn’t find out just yet. Hopefully, not at all.”

Daniel asks about the other teen, "Yeah, so how's blondie doing?" The blonde shakes his head, "He's fine; he's doing some drills." The brunette checks the time on his phone, and his eyebrows go up in surprise. "Oh shit. Can you look after the two while I'll make some food? I didn't realize how fast time had passed. I just checked the time, and it's 2pm already. I guess we lost track of time."

Johnny looks slightly in awe, "Shit, It's already 2?" Daniel shoves the phone into his pocket and starts walking to the car. He walks backward to keep eye contact with the older blonde, "Yeah, I guess I'll be making a late lunch and an early dinner." 

The rest of the evening wasn't too eventful; Daniel was making Saltimbocca and Arancini for the appetizers. Saltimbocca is thin slices of veal topped with salty prosciutto and herb leaves. These ingredients joined together with a toothpick, are sautéed in a pan until the meat is done. Arancini are crisp and golden brown stuffed rice balls that are fried after being coated in a dusting of crunchy breadcrumbs.

Later for the main dishes, older Daniel knew there would be different preferences between himself and Johnny. So he made Osso buco alla Milanese for the Johnnys and Tagliatelle al ragù alla Bolognese for himself and younger Daniel.

Osso buco alla Milanese is a meat dish with tender veal shanks, braised slowly in white wine, and is served with an array of vegetables. A serving of aromatic gremolata, a condiment made with lemon zest, garlic, and parsley. He had to sneak in some veggies for them somehow. Lastly, his and his younger self dish was their mother's favorite. Tagliatelle al ragù alla Bolognese is tagliatelle al ragù special Italian sauce topping a bed of some other ribbon-like pasta, such as fettuccine or pappardelle. Regardless of the type of pasta used, what makes or breaks this classic Emilian dish is the ragù itself.

Once the food was done, older Daniel pulled out Dolcetto black Italian wine along with two wine glasses. God, he knows both himself and Johnny needed it tonight. After pouring a decent amount into both glasses, Daniel stuck the bottle back into the fridge and ventured outside to find the others. It was already dark, and he had to put on the house light. He closed the door and looked around the house, but Daniel saw the warm glow coming from the dojo's sliding door. With a hint of a small smile tugging at his lips, the brunette follows the light. 

Daniel was going to open it, but something made him stop. Instead, he listens to the voices that were coming from inside. "Come on! How are you ever going to work together if you can't pay attention to each other's movements? We're here right now, forget everything before this and work together to Take… ME… Down! Focus! Go…!" When Daniel opens the door slightly to see the commotion, he sees older Johnny wielding one of his wooden bamboo staff attacking the two younger teens. The teens were quick on their feet, blocking Johnny's strikes and vise versa. It was definitely an unusual sight. Older Johnny was able to take his younger self's leg out from under him, and he landed on his back, hard. 

With the staff pointed at his throat, the younger blonde closed his eyes, expecting to be finished off like Kreese taught him, but the older man just spoke, "Good. Keep working on what I taught you. Get up and sit over there." Still, in his fighting stance, Young Daniel watches the other teen get up in confusion and sit where the older man told him to. The young brunette and older blonde circle each other for a moment and Johnny strikes first like usual. The teen blocks it in a shaky move and dodges the next strike with more confidence. But this spar ended like the other teen's did, but this time after Johnny had got him on the ground, on his back; the young brunette used his free foot to trip the older blonde. He took the staff with precision and pointed the end of it at older Johnny as he hit the ground. The blonde groaned and coughed as he had the wind knocked out of him, "About time LaRusso. I told you, if you just focus, you'll pull it off just fine. Take five; I need an Excedrin after that." Older Johnny gets himself off of the mat while giving the brunette a ruffle of his hair before setting the staff back where it should be. 

Daniel watched his younger self sit awkwardly by Johnny's younger teen. Their whispers were too quiet to overhear. They share a couple of words between each other before the blonde teen reluctantly stuck his hand out for a handshake. The other teen looked warily but rolled his eyes and took the blonde's hand. Older Daniel spying on the three of them smiles widely. Progress, let's hope things stay stable.

The moment was cut off by the door suddenly sliding open; Daniel was startled by older Johnny's face was inches from his own, "Oh— uh… John! Dinners ready!" His voice was louder than he predicted due to the surprise. Daniel took a couple steps back, blushing that he was caught spying on them. On the other hand, Johnny was oblivious, "Oh okay, perfect timing, we were talking a break." The older blonde calls out to the teens, "Boys, dinner's ready."

The teens linger a little to exchange a few more words before filing out the dojo, but the young brunette called out to older Johnny, "Thanks, Dad!" The look of confusion was so great that the older brunette started laughing, but that was changed as soon as the younger blonde ran past older Daniel, "Thanks, Mom!" The two teens laugh and high-five while walking back to the main house where the food was prepared. 

The older men blink at each other, then Daniel speaks while stifling laughter, "Did you tell them to say that?"

"No, I guess that did sound like a parent thing to say." As the words left his mouth, both men felt the heat rise to their faces. The earlier comments of Johnny being the 'father' and Daniel being the 'mother' linger in their minds. Johnny clears his throat, "Let me turn off the light—"

"Don't bother; the teens have to make their way back after dinner. Don't worry about it. Come on, I've made homemade Italian…" The two walk back together. "I expected nothing less."

"So what were you teaching them?"

"Well, I felt like, if they are going to be stuck here… might as well get them to work together. And what is the best way to do that? Using something that they both like as a tool. Kinda like you suggested about switching their teaching styles tomorrow. I thought it would help a little bit, get them warmed up. Get them used to working together." The men stood on the porch of a moment.

"That's not a bad idea, John. Thank you."

"For what?"

"For not fighting me on this."

"Yeah… well, I guess I'm getting tired of the fighting too."

* * *

The rest of the dinner was nice and laid back. Daniel almost started tearing up when he received his dish, and older Daniel knew he did a good job when he how it was 'almost better than their mothers.' The Johnnys gushed over the meat dish, which Daniel knew they would adore. There were a few times where the teens tried to sneak a couple sips of wine, but one of the older men would catch them every time. 

After dinner, older Johnny and young Daniel picked up all the plates and dishes to put in the sink and continued to clean up around the table, while older Daniel and young Johnny started the dishes. For once, everyone was smiling and laughing about something or another. It was truly the first time everyone had gotten along, and it was pleasant; it definitely beats the yelling, fighting, hitting, and kicking that was the usual between them.

The older blonde was rubbing his eyes; Daniel could tell that Johnny was tired, "John go to bed; I'll make sure they get into the dojo just fine."

"You sure? I can stay up a little longer."

"For what? The dishes are done, the table's clean, and boys' sleeping clothes are ready for them in the dojo, along with some other clothes we found today. Go rest; today was a long, confusing day. Why did you think I pulled out the good wine? Go, John, I'll be fine." Johnny didn't think too hard about how domestic it sounded; he was quite tired, so he took up on the offer. "Okay,"  He raises his voice just a little so that the other two could hear him. "I'm off to bed, I'm beat. Night."

The teens respond collectively, "Night." With that, the blonde disappears into the hallway. Daniel then speaks to the boys, "Okay, off to the dojo. Bedtime at 10, at the latest. We have training to do tomorrow! I'll watch you as you walk back." Both teens groan, but older Daniel stayed true to what he said and watched them make their way back to the dojo. "Night!" The boys responded the same and slid the door behind them.

Both teens get settled onto their separate beds. "So I'm going to push my luck; why did you close your eyes when Mr. Lawrence knocked you down earlier?" Daniel readies himself for any physical violence, but all he hears is a frustrated sigh from the other teen." It's nothing, don't worry about it."

"You know, that would have worked earlier, but I'm feeling risky. I'm calling you on your bullshit; come on… it seems serious." Daniel turns onto his side to look at Johnny in the dark. 

"I am only going to tell you because I want you to shut up; I want to sleep. Today was so strange, and I'm exhausted. Look, Sensei Kreese is strict and a little rough and over the top, but I'm glad he is because he made us stronger. Made me stronger—"Johnny was cut off by the brunette, "No, he made you into an asshole." The blonde huffs, "Would you stop saying that!"

Daniel rubs his eyes, "John, you have to wake up, he's hurting you. Didn't you notice the way Mr. Lawrence flinched when you closed your eyes? Like you were bracing for something?"

"No, you dumbass, I had my eyes closed. You just don't get it LaRusso, go to bed I'm done with this conversation." Johnny lays down and turns his back to the brunette. But Daniel wasn't done talking, "Why did you congratulate me? You know? During the small training?" Johnny knew he was talking about the handshake from earlier. The blonde rolls his eyes and yawns, "You did good; what else can I say?"

"If-if you really want to know, uh, I tend to put up with the shit Kreese throws at me because karate helps— numb other things that are going on in my life. The more I put my energy into karate, the more I can tolerate other things. So I'm willing to be tolerant towards Kreese. There, now please, for the love of God, go to bed." 

"Thanks for telling me. Night, John." Daniel was kinda grateful to the blonde's honesty, which he wasn't really expecting. Just because he asked doesn't mean the other teen would acknowledge it. Johnny hums a night to Daniel. The two soon fell into a peaceful slumber.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This should be the last chapter before the boys switch styles! If not then it might setting it up. The first one will be looking at is young Daniel and older Johnny.


	7. You Won't Find A Thing To Chew, Nobody's Gonna Look At You… In The Year 4545

The morning came in no time, quite unavoidable, some might say. The boys in the dojo were moping as they got ready because they weren't looking forward to the day that was ahead of them. As it was, Daniel had to repeatedly smack Johnny in the head with his pillow several times for him to get up. But of course, that backfired; Johnny was up alright. The blonde grabs his own pillow and runs after the brunette's ass, "Come here! You wanted me up, well look— I'm up!" Daniel half yells and half laughs. Daniel trips over some blankets and falls on the soft fabric, and Johnny gives it back to Daniel with the taste of his own medicine, "I'm up, Daniel! Is this what you wanted?" Johnny evilly laughs as he hits the brunette with his fluffy pillow. Daniel couldn't stop laughing, "Okay, Okay! You're up—" Daniel snatches the pillow and holds it away from the blonde, and sticks his tongue out. 

Johnny makes a face, but Daniel shields his face with the pillow as he notices Johnny's bed head and flushed cheeks from running around and laughing. The only thing that was peaking out above the pillow was Daniel's big brown eyes. Their stares linger a little too long, and it was noticed by both of them. Johnny is first to speak up and change the energy in the room, "Give me my pillow back; no one said you could keep it." Daniel slowly extends the pillow out to the other teen without another word, "Thank you very much!" Johnny snatches it back and plops down on the bed while the brunette goes off to get ready. The blonde stares at the pillow picking at the seams and a loose thread. Those eyes fuck with him every time, and he hates it, but as much as he does, he is unaware that he was smiling. 

In the bathroom, after Daniel showered and dressed himself, he couldn't help but wonder what the hell that moment was. It was like time stopped, and neither of them knew what to do with it. The brunette ignored it; it was probably a symptom of being with each other all day long yesterday. When Daniel walked out of the small bathroom that they shared, he saw Johnny still sitting on his bed drawing patterns on the pillow while smiling like a doofus. "Showers' yours… What are you smiling about?"

"What, now I can't smile?"

"No, it's just suspicious; you never smile when I'm around."

"Gotta make light of a shit situation." Daniel throws his pillow one last time at Johnny's face as he walks to the bathroom. 

Earlier in the morning, before the teens got up in the house, Daniel was already making coffee while letting the older blonde sleep in. Yesterday, he was informed that Johnny was startled awake from a 'scream' from his teen self. Although Daniel didn't believe it was a scream, it was his interpretation that Johnny had to be exaggerating. Daniel stubbornly denied it, but it was, in fact, a high-pitched scream. The blonde was definitely not over-exaggerating, surprisingly enough. So the older brunette carries on by making Johnny a cup of coffee as he lounges around for a little bit. After an hour of puttering around the house, Johnny emerges from the hallway, "He's alive! Made you some coffee." The blonde yawns and makes a beeline for the coffee mug; luckily, it was still warm. "Good coffee…" Daniel hums, "So please tell me, we are not stuck here with our younger teen selves? And— please tell me it was a wild fever dream." He looks over to the brunette.

"Nope, that's all real, John." The blonde proceeds to chug the rest of the coffee in his mug. "Oh yay, more adventures with our dumb asses, times two." Johnny's sarcasm made Daniel chuckle, and after taking a sip, he responds, "But hey, lucky for us, I think they're making progress. So that's a plus."

Johnny shrugged, "Yeah, but for how long? That's the kicker. What if our luck runs out?" Daniel hums again. "You're right. How long? We don't know, but what we do know is that it's something, and we just have to count each blessing. Last night, at dinner, that was a major blessing."

"Yeah, that could've ended so much worse." Johnny sets the mug in the sink and walks closer to the couch where Daniel is sitting. He leans his front body onto the backrest with his forearms and clasps his hands together.

Daniel gives the blonde a knowing look, then brings up a famous fight between the two of them, "Like the pie brawl that happened back in high school? That was probably the most ridiculous fight we ever had!" Daniel started laughing, remembering how that blueberry pie stain refused to come out of his pants. His mother scolded him because that was his only pair that didn't have holes. Plus, he remembered that it was one of his favorites.

Johnny, on the other hand, couldn't recall that interaction between them for the life of him, "What pie brawl? I would have remembered if I fought you over a damn pie." The look on Daniel's face was priceless. This response had the brunette sputtering in confusion; once he took a moment for this to sink in, he carefully formed his reply. "John, are you shitting me? Are you fucking serious right now? We talked about it in front of Amanda, you know? Before the divorce. The blueberry pie fight." Johnny stood there confused. 

Daniel looked at the other man like he had grown a second head. The brunette set his coffee down and stood up, "You know—?" He mimes a plate of pie in his hand and places the invisible pie on the spot he was sitting on, and continues to sit on top of said invisible pie. He then stood back up, taking invisible pie and pitter-patters over to where Johnny was standing, and imitated smearing the invisible pie over his shirt. "Pie brawl." Daniel then makes his way back to his spot on the couch.

Johnny feels a panic surge through him as he can't recall this 'pie brawl,' "I literally have no memory of that happening— between us, are you absolutely sure that's what happened?"

"Yes, Johnny!" Daniel put his face in his hands, and he was rendered entirely speechless. "I don't remember any 'pie brawl,' but what I do remember was that we were sharing a blueberry pie when Dutch tried to smash his pie onto you. I moved you out of the way just in time too. I then saved the pie and smeared it on him. I think you remembered it wrong." Johnny sat down next to Daniel on the couch, looking quite concerned.

"Uh no— that's not what happened at all! We couldn't have shared that pie; the only thing we shared was anger, bruises, and stained clothing. John, please, tell me I'm not going crazy here!" Daniel was officially starting to panic; he was confused as to what the hell was happening. "No, I remember it just fine; after Dutch got stained, we both started laughing. And you had some blue… berry on your nose— and I-I—"Johnny freezes for a moment trying to be sure his memory isn't betraying him. Daniel was dying of anticipation, "What, John?"

Johnny shifted his eyes towards Daniel ever so slightly and gulps; he desperately ignores the deepening blush forming on his cheeks, "Licked it off." The brunette flushes and stands up, becoming a little frustrated, "Stop it! Your fucking with me." Johnny winces at the other man's voice. The blonde tries his hardest to suppress the blush that was still rising and looks Daniel gently in the eyes, "I promise, I'm not making this up. That's what I really remember. We busted up laughing afterward, but everything is fuzzy afterward! And… before it, now that I mention it."

Daniel gives him a strange look, but he takes a moment to think, "John, are your memories changing?" Both men are quiet and very, very unsure of why memories would change in the first place. The blonde voices his opinions, "I don't know. Why would my memories change?" Daniel paces back and forth, trying to figure this shit out. Eventually, he gets an epiphany, "Last night! I saw your younger self shake Daniel's hand. He-he congratulated him on his progress in karate. Maybe every time they each extend an olive branch, their future changes. Therefore our memories change."

Johnny looked skeptical, "Yeah, okay, and let's say your theory is right. Why haven't your memories changed? Your younger self apologized to my younger self. Explain that." Johnny was hoping this wasn't what was happening. Although changing their relationship for the better was always a good change, but having their memories rewritten without knowing is scary. What else are they going to forget? What will be written? It feels like a violation of the deepest psyche. 

Daniel was sure if his conclusion was correct. However, it was the only thing his mind came up with that made any kind of sorta sense. "I don't know, but if your memories changed and you have no recollection that it did, how the hell am I going to know?"

Johnny knew the brunette had a point; he didn't even know it changed until the other man brought it up, "Okay, come here—" The blonde pulls the other man closer to him. "—How did we meet?"

Being the smart ass he is, Daniel bit out a smart remark, "My version or your version?" Johnny gives him a glare, "Cut it out, do it like in third person or whatever. How did we meet, LaRusso?" The blonde was staring intensely at Daniel, which made him a little nervous. "On the beach, I was playing soccer with some boys, and Ali started flirting with me. I took the hint and talked to her while you came down with your Cobras and started harassing Ali—" Johnny swiftly complains, "I just wanted to talk!"

The brunette flicks him on the forehead, "Shut up, then you broke her radio, I picked it up, and well, you kicked my ass after I popped you in the nose for pushing me down a couple of times." Johnny was slightly annoyed that Daniel had to flick him on the head; he was still rubbing the area, but overall satisfied with his response. "Okay, uh-uh, Halloween?"

Daniel gave a threatening glare, Johnny shrunk back just a little, "How could I forget? Geez, I wonder who kicked my ass so hard I thought I was dead. Plus, for them, that already happened… like a month ago. Try again." Daniel crossed his arms over his chest. Johnny takes a moment to think of another significant encounter. "Oh! The country club, spaghetti."

Daniel rolled his eyes, "Yeah, you kissed Ali out of spite when I was looking through the window from the kitchen doors." Johnny knew there were so many minute moments that they have shared, "Uh, this is going to take forever." Daniel could see the defeat in the blonde's expression. "Wait! I've been meaning to ask you about this since yesterday, but I totally forgot. What if some memories don't change. What if… new ones are created?"

"What do you mean?"

"If the two of them magically become friends, then it's only natural that new memories will be created! Look, this old interaction I had with you years ago, back in high, began plaguing my mind. It only started yesterday. Have we ever— and I mean ever— passed notes in school. Like to each other, all the time? It doesn't make any sense. We despised each other. Why would we be passing notes to one another for fun? We would do it in class, in the hallways, leaving them in lockers, and like… under desks and seats? It was like we were sneaking around planning something. But I have no idea what it was." 

As baffling as it sounded, Johnny doesn't recall any of that. "Interesting, yeah, that never happened. I wasn't even a big fan of passing notes, too much of a paper trail if you know what I mean." He gave a wink, and the other man gave him an unimpressed look. "Johnny, this is serious." Their conversation was interrupted by a pair of teens peeking in. Young Daniel knocks lightly, "Good morning. Are we interrupting anything?" The older men halted the conversation, and both silently agreed to finish it later after the first training day. Johnny addresses the younger boys, "Morning, you two, how did you sleep?"

The young blonde walks over the coffee machine, "No funny business between us; we were decent, I promise. May I?" Johnny gives a genuine smile while gesturing to ask if it was okay to make himself a cup of coffee, and both men look to Daniel to confirm. Older nods, letting them know that they can have to rest of the coffee. The brunette teen protests, "Actually, can I have some tea? He can have the rest of the coffee, but I'm feeling a little homesick without Mr. Miyagi around." Daniel nods with understanding and begins to boil some water while he pulls out the tea leaves. Both older men were majorly dazed with the information they had discovered earlier, rendering them quieter than usual. 

Johnny notices that the teens were picking up on the change of energy from yesterday to this morning. So he speaks up to distract their concern, "LaRusso and I are going to get ready for class; I hope you're ready." The older blonde pitter-patters over to the counter where he left Daniel's hachimaki. He grabs it and gently gives it to the younger brunette, "Here, I almost left it at my apartment. I don't think LaRusso will mind if you wear it for class today." With a wink, Johnny disappears in the same direction the older man went moments earlier.

Young Johnny speaks suddenly, making the other teen jump in surprise, "Hmmm…. something's up, do they seem a little quiet to you?" Daniel walks over to the stove as the tea kettle whistles, and he begins to make his tea, "Maybe they're just tired, you have to remember, they are older than us." The blonde stares at the brunette, "Yeah, well, duh. But you admit that you see it?"

Daniel, not minding any of Johnny's claims, he keeps focusing on his tea. Without even looking at the blonde, he speaks as he seeps his tea leaves, "Well, sure. They may be us, but we should respect their privacy. Whatever your thinking, stop it." The young Johnny throws his hands up, "What! I was just pointing it out." Daniel shifts his body into a contrapposto posture and swings his head towards Johnny in a knowing way, giving him an unimpressed look. His lips flatten, and his right eyebrow goes up, " _S..u..r..e…_ '' Johnny had never heard that voice from Daniel. Eventually, the older men joined the two teens back in the main room, preparing for a pep talk. 

The older men looked awkward standing together, trying to figure what to say. Daniel pipes up, "So how are you feeling about switching styles?" Younger Daniel responded right away, "Nervous, definitely nervous. No offense, but Cobra Kai has always been bad news, and now that I am going into it— I don't want to become a bully." Johnny nods his head, "Don't worry so much, you may know Cobra Kai from 1984, but you have never seen my Cobra Kai. It's badass." 

Young Johnny tries to be gentle with his opinion strangely enough, "Well, I don't know if that karate dance mojo stuff is for me. I doubt that I can see myself doing that. It confuses me, but I guess I'm trying to be nice here—? Sooo, fuck… I'm being honest; it looks stupid. Sorry." Older Daniel sighs, "I uh— appreciate your honesty, but keep in mind to stay open-minded. Maybe you'll be good at it." The young blonde suppresses an eye roll as the older brunette's alarm on his phone goes off, "Ahh, and that's your," he points to the blonde man, "cue to get going. I should be expecting some students pretty soon." Daniel threw Johnny his keys, "Be careful with it, John. Don't underestimate me; I will kill you over it."

"Got it, no need to worry, Danielle. Come on, _Ralph…_ " The young teen cringes, "Eww, I'm not used to that." Young Johnny chuckles, "Well, get over it, _Ralphie_." The brunette huffs and follows older Johnny out to the vehicle.


	8. In The Year 5555, Your Arms Are Hanging Limp At Your Sides

The ride over to the dojo was anxiety inducing for Daniel. He was fidgeting with Mr. Miyagi’s hachimaki that both Johnny and his older self gave him. Johnny was quiet, but kept an eye on the teen and sighs. As much as the older blonde was interested in the exchange of techniques, he was also nervous. How will his students take to him? God, let’s hope they don’t recognize him. Johnny pulls into the parking space in front of the dojo and puts older Daniel’s vehicle into park. The blonde locks the doors after some searching for the damn button. An audible click let the younger teen know that the other man locked the car doors. However, Daniel really didn’t understand as he tried to open the door. When he found it locked, he got the idea. Johnny is not great at having a heart to heart with anyone, especially when someone is breathing down his neck. 

So without older Daniel, he was able to talk to the younger brunette with more ease. “LaRusso— Daniel. Don’t be scared. My kids are strong and powerful, but they’re not ruthless. Not… not like I was. That was my mistake and it was Kreese’s fault, he manipulated me. These kids have a lot in common with you, they turned to me to help them to defend themselves from bullies. This is my Cobra Kai dojo, I teach them to fight with honor, but with unmerciful techniques during a life or death situation. You’ll fit right in, but don’t mention your name, Mr. Miyagi, kata, balance or your old experiences with Cobra Kai. Just mention that you here to learn more of an offense style to strengthen your skill or something like that.” Daniel watches the older blonde as he talks and nods along to the information that he was given. “Got it, kid?”

“Yes, Mr. Lawrence.”

“When we step into the dojo, it’s ‘yes, Sensei.’ What's your name again?”

“Ralph.”

“Good,” Johnny unlocks the doors to the car and both hop out. The blonde fishes out the dojo keys and steps up to the door as he catches Daniel meekly following him. Before he opens the glass double doors, Johnny silently askes the young brunette for his white headband. With Johnny’s hand extended out in front of Daniel, the teen gently lays the white cloth in the older man’s hand. The man holds it for a second, admiring it, then pulls the brunette closer to him and ties it on the young boy’s forehead. “Don’t be afraid to trust me. There.” With a satisfied sigh, the blonde locks the vehicle and unlocks the glass doors to Cobra Kai. 

As they walk in, Johnny proudly turns on the lights and heads for his office to change into his gi. Daniel was already in clothing made for working out so he wandered around the dojo while remembering the first time he was in Cobras Kai about a month ago. The only thing he was grateful for, was the lack of human sized cardboard cut out of Kreese. But the moment that thought wiggled it’s way into the teen’s mind, Daniel was pulled out of his line of thinking and the bell on the door jingles violently. Another teen walks in, but he stops looking strangely at Daniel. The look of suspicion was apparent when he spotted Daniel. “Is Sensei Lawrence here?”

“Yeah, he’s changing into his gi. He should be out shortly. I’m new; what’s your name? I’m Da—Ralph. My name is Ralph.” Daniel shift’s nervously and pops a couple knuckles while fidgeting. The teen that walked in introduced himself and dropped his duffel bag, “I’m Miguel, hmmm… so you’re new? Are you a friend of Sensei Lawrence, or are you here just for the karate?” While rummishing through his bag, he half smiled, grabbing his own gi. Daniel hesitated for a moment, “Both, I guess.”

Miguel knew instantly that Ralph was not from California, his accent was way too thick and while pondering about it, he began to put on his gi. “Good, I hope you’re ready, you better show us what you got and you’ll be just fine. We just don’t trust fresh meat right away.” After grabbing his black belt, he tied it snuggly around his waist then looked up at Daniel while crossing his arms over his chest. 

The other young teen’s eyes widened a little, “Fresh meat…?”

A group of other students walk through the double doors, but the first one inside was a girl, “Hey! Miguel, whose that?” She had a smug exposition and came strutting next to Miguel. Other students stopped to stare at Daniel as if they were trying to figure out where they had seen him before, which followed with whispering. Miguel replies, “Fresh meat, Ralph— this is Tory, Tory— Ralph.”

“Where you from Ralph?” Tory was giving the brunette the stink eyes, she studies him and wonders if he would be able to handle Cobra Kai. “New Jersey…” Tory prys a little more, wanting more information on this mystery boy, “Why you here?” But Miguel jumps in to save Daniel from anymore interrogation. “He’s a friend of Sensei Lawrence. I believe he has experience in karate already. Right?”

Daniel laughs nervously, “Yeah, I know a more defensive style. In Jersey, I was taught that karate was only for defense, but someone gave me advice that some offense could benefit me. I’m going to give it a try, I guess.”

Another boy scoffs, “So you’re trying Cobra Kai? You won’t be able to handle it. He’s one of those Miyagi-do’s, that would be a better fit for you. He doesn’t belong here.” He rolls his eyes and walks over with an intimidating stance. He has a red mohawk and was already in his black gi. “So… Ralph is it? Why don’t you run along to mommy, or back to Jersey where you came from.” He gave a smug smile making his cleft scar stretch.

Daniel’s eyes darted around as he thought, but he was here to learn a different style of karate, and he trusted his older self. So he stood his ground, “No, I have every right to be here as you do.” Hawk bared his teeth, “Don’t push it kid.” As Hawk shifts closer, Daniel is ready for defense, but Johnny comes in yelling, “Quiet! Fall in line.”

Hawk whispers, “You got lucky.” He pokes Daniel in the ribs and walks away to fall in line. Daniel rubs where Hawk poked him, and followed the formation. “Okay, we have some fresh meat today. Ralph to the front!” Daniel shuffles up to the front row and awkwardly waits as everyone stares at him. “Ralph here only knows defense, so we are going to teach him some offense. But today after warm ups, we see where he’s at with some sparring. Now Miguel, will you please lead the class through warm ups.”

“Yes, Sensei!” Miguel takes the place of where Johnny stood and bows to the class with an audible sound letting the class follow. Daniel bows but is behind, “Fighting positions.” The young teen watches the students perform their ready stance and try to replicate their movements. His long arms and legs made it awkward to move into this new unfamiliar stance quickly. Miguel notices and waits a few moments longer than normal to help Daniel out a bit. Hawk in the second row snickers. 

Daniel wobbles, but is ready to continue. Miguel finishes the instructions. “Jab punch! Ready?” Johnny watches Daniel carefully, and lets the teen dip his toes into the warm ups. But he was struggling just a little bit. So the older blonde corrects Daniel’s position, shifts his feet with his own foot, and straightens his back. It takes him a few tries to get the hang of it, and once he does, Johnny moves around the class to watch them all. 

The warm ups consist of various strikes and kicks to stretch the body and get the blood flowing. After doing one set of jab punches, the class repeated raising elbow strike, spear hand thrust, side thrust kick and downward hand block. After the warm ups Miguel bowed again and found his place back in the line up. Johnny takes his time making his way back to the front of his students, “Right, now we are going to spar. We are the new school Cobra Kai. We are not soldiers!”

The students responded just how Daniel remembered, so it was easy for him to predict their response, “Yes, Sensei!” Johnny yells again, “We fight with honor!”

“Yes, Sensei!”

Johnny paces slowly as speaks, “And when someone tries to hurt you?”

The students yell back in confidence. “We give no mercy!”

The blonde continues, “What do you do when it is life or death?”

“Strike first, Strike Hard, No Mercy!”

“Good, form a circle! Ralph, can I speak to you for a moment?” Johnny directs the brunette to the small room made for drills. The blonde pulls him to the side, “Mr. Lawrence? Did I do something wrong?”

“No, no, Daniel, I just wanted to say, do with what you are comfortable with. If that’s defense, then do it. We’ll incorporate offense as we go; just focus and show them what you got. Try to beat their asses, LaRusso. They need some humbling.” The older blonde winks and calls for Bert to enter the middle of the mat.

Bert steps onto the mat, and a few seconds later, Daniel re-emerges in the main dojo area. “Bert’s going to be your first spar— don’t underestimate him; he’s quick.” Bert bows to Daniel quickly, and Daniel returns it. Both teens commence their fighting positions. Of course, Bert strikes first. However, the short boy circles Daniel to find his best place to strike, keeping in mind that Ralph is better at defense. So Bert decides that striking from behind is the best call, as Daniel can’t see him in his direct view. With a roundhouse kick, Daniel can’t duck because Bert is so much shorter than he is. However, Daniel does pivot away from the kick, meeting Bert’s eye level as he goes to take him out from his legs. Bert jumped Daniel’s swiping leg and got down to the mat to kick Daniel close to the face. 

Daniel then ducks and grabs the short blonde’s leg, throwing it aside. He then settles a knee next to Bert and simulates a punch to his chest without contact or following through. End of the match, the win goes to Ralph. Daniel holds out his hand to help Bert off the mat, and the short blonde takes it. “Nice reflexes.” Bert smiles, waiting for a response, “Thanks, you’re very observant.” They shake hands. 

Bert walks back to his spot in the circle as Johnny calls for the next contestant, “StingRay.” StingRay becomes giddy and strokes his braided beard. “Awesome.” The young adult steps up to face Daniel, and the teen smiles at the other’s enthusiasm. StingRay bows, and this time Daniel was in sync. The young adult immediately goes for the chest, and Daniel reflects it with a simple wax-off motion; keeping his hands up, he observes StingRays movements carefully. 

Daniel looks to Johnny for a second, thinking if he should throw a kick or something, but he was indecisive about it. This, in turn, causes a moment of loss of concentration, and the side kick that came flying towards Daniel connected with his shoulder. The teen landed on the mat hard with a yelp, and the class made an 'oooh' sound. But Daniel wasn't done yet, because he slid under StingRay's legs, popped back up, making the young adult lose his balance. Using that as leverage, Daniel returned the kick, winning the match. 

StingRay picked himself up and shook Daniel's hand enthusiastically, "Hey! Quick thinking, man. You flew under me like nothing."

"Thanks, uhh, just a tip— make sure to bend your knees to plant yourself. You'll stay balanced for a longer period of time." StingRay nodded and moved back to a spot in the circle. The bell from the dojo's door sounds in the background making everyone look over to the entrance. A young female walks in with a hurry, "Sorry, Sensei Lawrence! There was a bad accident, and I was stuck in traffic; I hope I didn't miss too much!" She wore black-rimmed glasses and was already in her gi and throwing her bag to the side while jogging into the circle formation. "No worries, Ms. Robinson. Hey, we got a newbie today. You up to sparring with him?"

"Sure, Sensei." She stretched a couple times because she knew that she missed warm-ups. As she meets Daniel in the middle of the mat, she introduces herself, "Hi, welcome to Cobra Kai. I'm Aisha." Daniel bows, "Nice to meet you, the name's Ralph." She smiles and bows back, "Ready when you are." Daniel studies her, and she throws a couple of punches, testing the other teen's reactions. This match was more calculated than the ones before. Daniel realized that he was not the only one in this dojo that was capable of some defense. Aisha also seemed to struggle with timing her offense, despite that Daniel has to watch her carefully. Although Aisha strikes first, she's also patient, but so is the brunette. Their match takes the longest out of all the matches, and both end up on the mat multiple times. However, they always find a clever way to get back up. Most of the students notice the smiles gracing the two teens' faces. They were sparring like old friends, playful but focused.

Eventually, things had to come to an end. Aisha ducks under one of Daniel's kicks; unfortunately, she wasn't fast enough to avoid a back kick coming consecutively to the last kick. Aisha surrenders, "Okay, I'm done. I'm tired, but you're lucky because if I weren't, we would still be going at it. I got to say you're pretty skilled; anytime you want to spar, hit me up; I'm there." Daniel helped her up, and they shared a formal hug. "Thanks! You're not so bad yourself. Remind me to get your telephone number; I'm gonna hold you to your word." Tory in the circle whispers under her breath to herself, 'telephone? Who says telephone anymore?' She thinks. Once Aisha is back in the formation, Tory side-eyes her and whispers, "Don't tell me you have a crush on the fresh meat…?" Aisha laughs, "No, he's genuinely good. I can tell he favors defense more, kinda like I do. I don't know, I like his style. Plus, he's chill." She shrugs, and Tory rolls her eyes.

Johnny called for another student to step up, "Miguel Dìaz." As if Daniel wasn't already nervous, he knew Miguel was stronger. Johnny, on the other hand, knows that Miguel will win the match. He has to challenge the brunette at least a little bit. However, he forgets that this Daniel only has about a month of training under his belt. Nothing like older Daniel's expanded knowledge from Mr. Miyagi from over the years. Miguel and Daniel bow to each other and take their stances. Miguel throws a punch, Daniel blocks it and pivots away. The other teen charges into a kick, but Daniel ducks under and jabs Miguel with his elbow in the spine. The two danced around each other, throwing strikes when the other was open, but both teens successfully deflected the moves. In one moment, in particular, had the older blonde shitting his pants because Miguel was adjusting his movements to lead into the crane kick. 

Johnny was tempted to yell and interrupt the match entirely because he wasn't sure if Daniel had learned it yet. But it was too late; Miguel already had his hands up in the crane position and balancing on one leg. This seemed to not affect Daniel at all because he got down to the mat and swept his one standing leg, throwing Miguel completely off. After hitting the mat, the teen used his legs to wrap around Daniel's legs to trip him to also landing on the mat. Miguel is up on his feet again and pins Daniel down with his right foot on his chest. "Not bad for a defense only karate style. I think Cobra Kai is the perfect place for you." Miguel takes his foot off Daniel's chest and takes Daniel's hand to help him up off the mat.

Daniel smiles, and the other teen returns it, "Thanks, I haven't had much training. There is still much improvement in store for me." 

Johnny paces a few steps before calling on another student, "Tory." The young teen takes Miguel's place on the mat and begins rolling her ankles, making them pop. She straightens her back and gives a striking smug expression to Daniel. The brunette could feel his anxiety building, so he does some breathing exercises that his older self taught him the day before. This makes Tory cock an eyebrow in curiosity. "You nervous, Jersey boy?"

Daniel doesn't answer back; his only response is a bow. With a smile, Tory also bows. She immediately throws consecutive punches and kicks. It was hard keeping up; the brunette was able to block most of them. He did get kicked in the hip, making him falter, which made it easier for a punch to connect with the same shoulder he was kicked in an earlier match. He hissed in pain, but as Tory went in for the exact blow again, Daniel moved his head just in time. At this point, with how aggressively fast Tory was, Daniel had no time to think about offense. He was continually blocking, ducking, and pivoting away. 

This started to annoy Tory. "Come on, hit back!" Daniel began to look for an opening in her fighting position, but Tory grabbed him by the wrist and flung him to the mat. The wind was knocked out of him, and Daniel's eyes grew when Tory wasn't taking 'him hitting the mat' as the end of the match. She was going to 'finish him,' but Daniel used his leg to push her off. The force he used had her flipping over his head onto the mat above him. Johnny was amused and pleasantly surprised, "I'll call that a draw." 

Tory gets up and huffs back into the circle, "You got lucky fresh meat. Next time I won't be holding back. But…you did a good come back. Seriously, you need to get some good strikes in. That was mostly boring for me." Daniel just nodded, not really having a good response to give her. He stuck out his hand to shake hers, but she hesitated. She eyed him suspiciously; she shrugged and took his hand. 

"Okay, last match of the day. Uh, let's see— Hawk." Johnny knew he had to keep an eye on Eli; he was a force to be reckoned with. So if he has to step in, he will. 

Hawk steps off the circle formation and bounces up on the balls of his feet to loosen his body up for the match. The teen gives a threatening glare, "You ready fresh meat? I doubt you'll last two minutes." Johnny becomes more invested and notices Daniel is internally freaking out. Johnny could always tell when the other man was uncomfortable, upset, angry or if he feared something. His younger self was no expectation as, for the most part, he has caused many of those expressions back in the day. So the older blonde speaks up, "Hawk, watch yourself. What do we fight within the dojo?" Eli rolls his eyes internally, "With honor, Sensei." The older blonde builds on the message, "Is this a life or death situation?"

"No, Sensei."

Johnny really wanted to drill it in because it will benefit him. Kreese never drilled in the right message when he was under him. This was the first step in changing Cobra Kai for the good. The man walks up to the teen and looks him straight in the eyes, "Then what will you do when the match is over?"

Eli swallowed, and his eyes shifted unevenly while looking at his Sensei, "Give mercy." Johnny gave Eli a proud smile and clapped him on the shoulder before stepping back to the front of the class, somewhere off the mat, "Ada boy." He waited for the two to bow and ready themselves and Johnny yelled for them to begin, "Fight!" 

Daniel tries to strike first by giving a roundhouse kick, but Hawk catches his leg and uses his own leg to take him down to the mat right away. Daniel gave a yelp as he went down. Hawk went after him, and Daniel literally had to roll away. After he popped back up on his feet, he knew he had to think quickly. But it didn't matter what was going on inside his head because the brunette ran out of time. Hawk grabbed him from behind and knee him in the spine, then turned him around and head-butted Daniel. The teen had a moment of fuzziness in his vision but smiles. Daniel's head was heavy, and he gave a chuckle. 

"You're funny if you think this hardcore; you have no idea what I've been through." Of course, this is referring to younger Johnny and the past Cobras during Halloween. "If you dish it out, be prepared to take it." However, this confuses Hawk; however, it didn't last long, and Daniel head butts Hawk back, making him falter and take a couple steps backward. "Oh, it's on!" Johnny's heart drops, at first, he's impressed by Daniel, but now there was nothing holding Hawk back. The older blonde holds a breath waiting for the perfect time to cut in and stop the match. 

The two flew across the mat, and students noticed that their Sensei was biting his nails. Johnny was so nervous because if older Daniel found out about his younger self being beaten up at Cobra Kai— his Cobra Kai; Johnny would have his ass handed to him or worse— his body in a lake somewhere in Reseda. 

Daniel couldn't keep his big mouth shut, "You may be good at offense, but as long as you're mad, you can't touch me. It's the power of balance and defense. Maybe you should learn some." Johnny was about to call off the match when Daniel had to duck under from a jump roundhouse kick and gave a hefty punch aimed for Hawks shoulder. But Hawk was already in motion for his next move making the punch hit him square in the nose. This had Eli on the mat before he knew it, and the match was over. The only reason it was over was because Johnny called it before Hawk tried anything else. 

Daniel spoke once more, "I've dealt with bullies before. I didn't know how to defend myself at that time, and now I can. I've heard you were bullied too, don't become one. It's hard to come back from that. Or so I've heard." Daniel then sighs and stretches his hand out for Eli to take. Eli hesitates, looking down to the mat. When he looked up, his nose was bleeding. With a slow single nod, he takes Daniel's hand and pulls himself up. "You got my respect, Jersey kid. You fought well for it; you deserve it." Johnny sighs in relief. 

Daniel scoffs, "God, I sure hope I do. You- uh got some blood—" The brunette gestures to his nose, "Yeah, well, you popped me pretty good." Eli said it with no real fire behind his words.

The other teen rolled his eyes, "Yeah, well, you gave me a good scare."

This had Hawk give a shit-eating grin as he wiped his nose again, "That's the point. You have to be in it to win it. Had to make sure you were Cobra Kai martial." Daniel looked at him strangely. Hawk stuck his hand this time, "Welcome to Cobra Kai— Ralph." Daniel shook it lightly and smiled. With taking Hawk walks back to the circle formation. 

Johnny was getting over his mini heart attack and finally spoke, "Alright! That was class today. If you didn't get a chance to spar today, then feel free to stay and practice those formations I taught you, last class. I'll be testing you on technique, and accuracy next class, so be ready for that. Dojo's open til 5:00 pm today. Who's willing to lock up for me with the spare key?"

Miguel raises his hand, "Great, you know where it's at. Make sure both doors are locked. Last time it was only one door, just a friendly reminder. If anything happens, call me. Thanks, guys. Class dismissed." The students thank their Sensei, and many make their way to the other room to set up, while others grab their belongings and head for the doors. Daniel was found socializing with some Cobras after Johnny had changed out of his gi. So he decided to let him talk for a bit longer while he pulled Hawk inside his office. Johnny crosses his arms, "What the hell was that?"

Hawk seems unbothered, "What? He proved he was made for this style of karate. I was making sure he wasn't wasting his time here. Granted, I may have taken a bit too far, but he handled himself just fine."

Johnny leaned over his desk with his arms supporting him and gave a serious look, "That doesn't matter; he's my responsibility. What I say goes, and that was inappropriate. Your reasoning is for me to decide, not you. Look, I see a lot of me in you when I was your age. I'm trying to help you not end up like me. I'm doing everything in my power to not end up like my Sensei. For that stunt you pulled, You're being pulled from the tournament— until you show me that you can play nice and show me that you're responsible enough to fight with honor. I know you are capable of it; just show me. You got a week to fix your attitude."

Hawk sighs, "Yes, Sensei."

"Good, now go practice and don't be so hard on yourself. It's okay to make mistakes; just learn from them. I'm still making up for mine." Johnny gave him a smile and a wink, "Thank you, Sensei." Johnny shakes his head and walks over to Daniel, "Hey Ralph, ready to head out?"

"Yeah." He turns to Aisha, "What time are you normally home? I don't want to miss you if I call. Plus, I don't want you dashing for the telephone either." Most of the remaining students gave Daniel a strange look. 

But it didn't bother Aisha, "Oh, it's okay, that number is my cell…" However, it was the brunette's turn to be confused, "What's a cell—"Johnny decides to cut in, "Okay, time to go! Thanks for everything, guys!" With that, Johnny ushers the young teen out of the dojo completely. "Hey, Mr. Lawrence, what's a cell?"

Johnny unlocks older Daniel's car and hops in, waiting for the younger teen to do the same, "It's like a pager."

"Oh, okay." Daniel knew for a fact that the older blonde couldn't tell him what it really was, so he took the answer he was given. The ride back to Mr. Miyagi's dojo was quiet, but it was a feeling of contentment. The brunette couldn't help but think, what was it like for Johnny. Although Daniel preferred Miyagi-do's methods, Cobra Kai wasn't bad— just intense. He was stuck in his mind when Mr. Lawrence stopped the vehicle that he didn't notice right away that this was not Mr. Miyagi's house. "Get out, kid, we're getting ice cream. You did good today." 

Daniel let that message sink in for a moment; he couldn't hide a small smile as they walked into the ice cream parlor. They made their way to the counter to order. After looking for what they both wanted, Johnny orders first, "Two scoops, one strawberry, one banana in a waffle cone, please." Daniel gave him a look, "Two scoops, huh— well then I'll also take two scoops. One pistachio and one rocky road in a bowl, please." Johnny questions the brunette," A bowl? What's the fun in that?" Johnny proceeded to pay the woman taking their order. 

Daniel begins to explain his superior way of eating ice cream, "With a bowl, I can enjoy my ice cream. Take my sweet ass time, not rush to inhale it before it melts." The older blonde rolled his eyes, "Yeah, but where's the crunch? The waffle is sweet and crunchy. Why don't you get the waffle bowl?"

"They have that now?? But, wait, there's a problem with that too. I don't want to poke a hole in the bottom with my spoon. Leaks are the worst."

After receiving their orders, they sit down to talk a bit. "Whatever, kid, I want to say thank you."

"For what?"

"Giving Cobra Kai a chance. Your order self had told me some horror stories about times he has dealt with Cobra Kai after me and my friends. I was surprised he trusted me enough to have you there today. Also, I want to apologize for Hawk's behavior—"

"No, no, Hawk's fine. I get it; he's not used to new people barging in. He needed to make sure I was legit. He could smell that I was unsure about that place from the minute he stepped in. Either way, when I got confident and put him in his place, he backed off. I needed that— I needed confidence."

They eat quietly for a few moments, "I want to tell you some things to help you out with my younger self. He's closed off for some reasons. We used to be just like you, living in Reseda. My mother and I were struggling to make ends meet, and she still somehow put food on the table for me. Most nights, she went to bed without eating. Then my mother, bless her heart, met Sid. He's my stepfather, old dip shit he was. But mom did everything for me, so she married him to give me a better life; Sid was loaded. Everything started looking up, but not two months later, Sid began to show signs of aggression. Eventually, he started hitting my mother and I; soon enough, it became a battlefield in the house. At the age of eight, I found Cobra Kai. Once I learned self-defense, I started hitting back at Sid. He was furious, so he began hitting my mother more if I defied him. It was a mess, and it continued until the end of senior year when I moved out. That is one of many things my younger self is going through right now. It took me a really long time to realize, but I was jealous of you. You didn't have to deal with snobby rich people that expected you to act a certain way; it was just you and your mother trying to make it in a new state."

Johnny wasn't sure if he should be saying this, but it was about the past, so it shouldn't matter. However, there was the small problem of whether it was ethical to say this about his younger self if it is his business, but it used to be his business as well. Daniel's face was morphing between anger, sadness, and guilt as he listened to the older blonde's situation. "Oh, Mr. Lawrence, I am sorry, I didn't know. My God, I had no idea!"

Johnny sighs, "Relax, I know, kid. Look, here's a tip. When he shuts you down, don't be snarky with him. Just be honest, try to connect with him. The more you try, he'll notice and let some of his wall down. But don't screw it up once that wall comes down because there's shit behind there that hasn't seen the light of day in years. You better be ready because if you're not and you make the wrong move, he'll maul you to pieces. Good luck." Daniel gave a nod and thought about it for a moment. He thought, what if he did mess up? He looks back up to the older man, "That's it, nothing about saving my ass if I do make the wrong move?"

Johnny smiles; he remembers being a bit unpredictable when he was pushed his limit, "Nope." Daniel rolls his eyes as he takes his last spoon of the melted ice cream into his mouth, "Great, Thanks…" Johnny eventually pops the last of his cone into his mouth and wipes his hands, "So you want to take ice cream to the other's and watch them forget that we are them and be surprised that we magically know their favorite ice cream flavors." Johnny gave an evil smirk. Daniel laughs, "Hell yeah, I can't wait to see their faces."


End file.
